Modern Tangled
by RayRayofCali
Summary: Instead of a tower, an apartment building. Instead of lanterns, fireworks. Instead of a crown, a crown and a nail. Instead of trapped by water, trapped by smoke. A modern telling of Tangled. R&R. Chapter 12 up now!
1. The Lost Daughter

Once upon a time … Scratch that. This is a love story but it's definitely not from like the 1500's. This is a much more modern version of a well-known princess. You'd probably know who it is once you know her name. Rapunzel. I told you.

This story takes place in a city called Huntington Beach. Now, in Huntington Beach, there was a Governor and his wife. They were happy and ruled the state of California with wisdom and peace. And to top it all off, they were expecting a daughter. But something had happened and the Governor's wife somehow got very ill. The Governor was very worried that he might lose his wife and child and sent police after someone or something that could help.

Luckily, there was a flower that had the power to heal the sick and injured. It glowed when it was sung to. An old woman named Mother Gothel kept the flower hidden to keep herself young and beautiful for hundreds of years. All that was needed for this was to sing to the flower.

"Flower, gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine. What once was mine." She sung this many times and was young for a long time. But as she did not hide the flower well behind a fake bush, the police that were sent by the Governor found the flower.

Mother Gothel was not happy with this and followed the police to the estate. The Governor placed the flower in a bowl of water and had his wife drink this water and at once was healed.

A beautiful baby girl, their daughter, was born. She was born with long, beautiful, golden hair. The Governor and his wife named their daughter Rapunzel. To celebrate her birth, They set off many fireworks that night on the pier of the city. In that moment, everything was perfect.

But a moment can come and go. This moment lasted the afternoon but in the night, Mother Gothel broke into the estate to find wherever the flower was hidden. But as it was very dark, all she did was sing her song and waited for a light to come. The baby's cradle started to glow as Mother Gothel came to it with a pair of scissors. She saw the baby's hair glow as bright as the flower did. She found the flower.

As she continued to sing her song, she snipped a piece the of the baby's hair to take as her own. But as she held that piece of hair, it turned brown and she turned old. She looked back at the hair and the hair that was still attached to Rapunzel turned brown. Mother Gothel knew what she had to do.

All that was heard was Rapunzel's cry that awoke the Governor and his wife at once. As they looked over to where their precious daughter was, they saw a cloaked figure (Mother Gothel) with the child and just like that, disappeared forever.

A few years later when Rapunzel was able to speak and know what she was saying and the ability to remember things, Gothel taught her to sing the song which she sung it perfectly. For deep in the forest, in an old abandoned apartment, Gothel raised the child as her own. Gothel had found her new magic flower. But this time, she was determined to keep it hidden.

"Why can't I go outside?" Rapunzel asked Gothel many times but always knew the answer.

"The outside world is a dangerous place filled with horrible, selfish people." Gothel was used to explaining this to her daughter and was never asked this question again. "You must stay here where you're safe. Do you understand, flower?"

"Yes, Mommy."

But the walls of that apartment couldn't hide everything. Each year on her birthday, the entire state of California released thousands of fireworks into the sky in hopes that one day the lost daughter would return.

Rapunzel was always in her apartment so she never had to change into an appropriate outfit so she was always in her purple PJ's.

Years later, in fact the morning before Rapunzel's 18th birthday, July 3rd, her and her Chameleon were playing 'Hide and Go Seek'. Pascal, her chameleon, ran out to the window sill and tried to hide behind a pot and blended into the pattern.

A few seconds later, Rapunzel swung open the windows to find Pascal. "Ha!" she screamed in hopes of finding Pascal so easily. But she couldn't see him. "Hmm, well, I guess Pascal's not hiding out here…" She said as she started to walk away from the window.

Pascal had an ear-to-ear grin and let out a silent chuckle. But soon he realized that this was a huge mistake as Rapunzel's hair was let down to tie the end of his tail. She tugged and Pascal was hanging upside down all of a sudden. She was too.

"GOTCHA!" She yelled facing the small green friend of hers. This completely freked him out but he was expecting to be caught one way or another. He let out a squeak and went back to his normal green color.

Rapunzel got back onto the floor and let down Pascal. "That's 22 for me," Rapunzel explained as she untied her hair from Pascal's tail. "How about 23 out of 45?"

Pascal really didn't care. He just gave her a look that said '_You're gonna beat me anyway._'

"Okay," Rapunzel decided that maybe Pascal was right seeing as how she knows every corner of the building. "Well, What do you wanna do?"

Pascal loved the thought of getting to do something that he enjoyed. His eyes lit up at the thought. He faced outside but still looked at Rapunzel. He pointed his tail motioning to go outside.

"Yeah," Rapunzel said, picking up Pascal. "I don't think so. I like it in here, and so do you." Pascal didn't like it there though. So he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Oh, come on, Pascal" she rolled her eyes. "It's not so bad in there." She carried him in and after they did chores, they did some of her favorite hobbies.

"See?" Rapunzel sat by the window talking to Pascal. "It's almost 8:00 and we've already read books, paint, play guitar, knit, cook, jigsaw puzzles, darts, baking, papier-mache, ballet, chess, pottery, ventriloquy, candle-making, stretch, sketch, climb, sew a new dress, brush my hair. But most of all, I guess I did wonder 'when will my life begin?'"

Pascal nodded in agreement.

"But tomorrow night, we'll watch the lights burst in the sky. Like every other July 4th. I wonder what it's like to be there when they explode. You know, because I'm older and a bit more mature, Mom will let me see them." Rapunzel said quietly looking at the painting she made of her sitting on a hill watching the fireworks.


	2. Mother Knows Best

Flynn Rider and his co-thieves, The Stabbington Brothers got into Disneyland before it opened on account of their fake badges. They walked quickly down main street and into the walkway of the castle. Dead center. Flynn sat down on the ground and took out a hammer. He turned it and pulled out the nail in the center. The center nail that Walt Disney put in himself to show the significance of the very center of the park that's been there for 55 years. Flynn placed it carefully in the satchel on his upper body.

Then he climbed up the castle to the roof of the room that held the real crown of Princess Aurora that costs a fortune made purely out of gold. He stood on the top taking a good look at the entire park.

"Wow." He said in a regular voice when he should have been in stealth mode. "I could get used to a view like this." He continued to look over the park when one of the brothers spoke up.

"Rider!" He tried to be firm and quiet at the same time. "Come on!"

Flynn just faced his hand towards him in order to keep him from talking. "Hold on." He stood back with his hands on his hips. "Yep. I'm used to it. Guys I want an amusement park." He stood there with a small smirk on his face thinking of what it would be like.

Unfortunately, one of the brothers brought him out of his thoughts. "We do this job," he started. "You can create your own theme park." With that he grabbed him and tied him with a rope and sent him down into the exhibit with the crown of Aurora. He lowered to where he could reach the crown just barely.

A cast member was sitting on the rail outside of it. Flynn took one look at the teenager. '_Probably an intern._' He thought. The teenager let out a loud cough.

Even though he was supposed to be stealthy, he spoke up. "Hay fever?"

"Yeah." The teenager said not bothering to look at whoever said it. He just went back to watching for anyone who would get a little close to the crown. Little did he know at that second, the crown wasn't there. Then he realized that no one is supposed to be in the park yet and he was the only cast member there. Who could have been talking to him? "Huh?" He turned around and faced the exhibit only to see an empty glass case. He looked up to see a hole being covered up by the brothers. "Wait!" He started to run out of the castle walkthrough but losing his way. "Hey! Wait!"

Meanwhile, Flynn and the twins were running down main street hearing the announcements, "THE CROWN OF AURORA IS MISSING! I REPEAT! THE CROWN OF AURORA IS MISSING!" Flynn heard but didn't care and continued running into the parking lot towards his Harley-Davidson.

"Can't you picture me having a theme park of my own?" He was talking to the twins. "'Cause I certainly can!" He started up his bike and got on. "All the things we've done and it's only 8:00 in the morning!" They started to drive down Disney Way. "Guys, this is a very big day!"

**Back at the apartment building,**

"This is it!" Rapunzel said as she put away her laptop. "This is a very big day, Pascal!" She picked up Pascal and placed him on her shoulder. "I'm finally gonna do it! I'm gonna ask her!" She was thinking about what it would be like if mother would let her. They could spend the entire day together and then watch the lights burst.

But she was brought out of her thoughts when she heard the sound of her Mom's voice. "Rapunzel!" Rapunzel gasped with so much excitement and not being able to wait until she got up to the 5th floor. "Let down your hair!"

"Coming, Mom!" She hung her hair on the hook outside and tossed her hair down. Gothel took the hair and made a loop on the end of it. She then stepped on it and began to be pulled up. Ever since Rapunzel got 50 feet of hair, Gothel's been using that to get up instead of using the stairs. Who would want to walk that long instead of an outdoor elevator?

She finally arrived on the 5th floor. She steeped on the window sill and walked in.

"Hi!" Rapunzel said trying to catch her breath from lifting her mother up 5 stories. "Welcome home, Mom." She pulled her hair off the hook and gathered the rest of her hair. Gothel greeted her daughter, not with a smile but with a look of concern.

"Oh, Rapunzel." She released her enormous hair from her hoodie. "How you manage to do that every single day without fail!" She walked towards her daughter and lifted her chin. "It looks absolutely exhausting, darling."

"Oh." Rapunzel was still trying to catch her breath as she said this. Both from bring up her mother and the excitement she had just a few moments earlier. "It's nothing."

"Then I don't know why it takes so long." Rapunzel was confused by this. Was she complaining about Rapunzel's strength? What confused her even more was that her Mom let out a burst of laughter. "Oh, darling! I'm just teasing!" She continued to walk past Rapunzel and hang her hoodie on the coat hanger. Rapunzel decided to laugh it off with her Mom.

"Alright. So, Mom" Rapunzel began walking behind her Mom who was looking at herself in the mirror. "As you know, tomorrow is a very big day," But Gothel wasn't paying any attention to what Rapunzel was saying.

"Rapunzel, look in that mirror." Gothel took Rapunzel to her side so she could see the mirror as well. "Do you know what I see? I see a strong, confident, beautiful, young lady." Rapunzel couldn't help but smile at the wonderful compliment. But Gothel then moved her eyes so she was looking at Rapunzel. "Oh, look! You're here, too!" Rapunzel then lost her smile again with confusion as Gothel broke out into laughter. "I'm just teasing. Stop taking everything so seriously." She nudged Rapunzel in her side and continued to look at herself in the mirror as if trying to give herself a plastic surgery.

"Okay." Rapunzel continued to try to tell her Mom what she wanted for tomorrow. "As I was saying, Mom, tomorrow is…" But she was cut off because Gothel noticed liver spots starting to appear.

"Rapunzel, Mama's feeling a little down." Rapunzel gave up speaking for now. "Would you sing for me, dear? Then we'll talk." Rapunzel brightened as she knew that she would tell her that he wanted to go outside. Gothel didn't really notice as she kept her eyes on her mirroring image.

"Oh! Of course, Mom!" Rapunzel grabbed a chair and placed it in the center of the living room. She also grabbed the footstool for her to sit on. Gothel came walking by to sit down and Rapunzel seated within half a second. She grabbed her hairbrush and placed it in her Mom's hand as she lifted some of her hair with her other hand and put it on her lap. Rapunzel wanted to get through this as quickly as possible so she could speak with her Mom.

"_Flower, gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine._" She quickly sang in almost 6 seconds.

"Wait! Wait!" Gothel cried as she thought this wouldn't be enough for her to become young again.

"_Heal what has been hurt. Change the fates' design. Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine."_ She sang this just about as fast as the first verse. Gothel tried brush through it as fast as possible. It may have darkened her hair a hade and taken away her liver spots, but she still wasn't satisfied.

"Rapunzel!" But she couldn't give out a long speech about disobedience because she was cut off by Rapunzel who quickly came to her side.

"So, Mom, earlier I was saying tomorrow is a pretty big day and you didn't really respond, so I'm just gonna tell you," Rapunzel practically exploded right about now. "It's my birthday!" She cluthed her Mom's arm and squeezed. She let a mall chuckle in hope for a good response from her Mom. "Ta-da!"

"No, no, no." She shook out of Rapunzel's grasp and gave herself a little bit of space. "Can't be." Rapunzel looked dumbfounded at her response. "I distinctly remember: Your birthday was last year." Rapunzel kept looking for the bright side of what she said and continued to talk.

"That's the funny thing about birthdays! They're kind of an annual thing." She was still waiting for her Mom to respond with something. Anything as long as it was good. She sighed when all her Mom did was blink. "Mom," She sat down on the stool again. "I'm turning 18 and I wanted to ask." Somehow, she couldn't get it out. "What I really want for this birthday," she started to mumble. "Actually what I've wanted for quite a few birthdays now." She was playing with a few strands of her hair as she said this, worrying how her Mom's reaction would be.

"Rapunzel, please." Gothel spoke up after hearing Rapunzel's last few words. Or trying to hear them. "Stop with the mumbling. You know how I feel about the mumbling." She lifted her hand to motion her mouth. "Blah-blah-blah! It's very annoying." Rapunzel still held a few strands of hair looking at her mother with a blank expression. "I'm just teasing. You're adorable." Gothel pinched and shook Rapunzel's cheek. "I love you so much, darling." Gothel walked away, sighing.

Rapunzel just sat there with sadness in her face. She looked over her shoulder to see Pascal trying to get her to speak up. Finally, Rapunzel let go of her hair and raised her hands in there air with an explosion of feelings just pouring out her mouth.

"UGH! I want to see the exploding lights!" She couldn't hold it in any longer. She just had to get it out. She kept an enormous grin on her face.

Gothel was getting things out of the Wal-Mart bag when she heard this. Particularly, Rapunzel's "supplies". She heard what Rapunzel said and just couldn't believe it. "What?" She asked in disbelief.

"Well," Rapunzel got a stool, stood on it and showed her the painting that she made. "Actually, I was hoping you'd take me to see the exploding lights." The fireworks weren't very detailed, and they looked like stars because they were scattered.

"Oh!" Even though Gothel knew what she was talking about, she decided to cover it up. "You mean the stars." Rapunzel moved away from the painting and opened the window by throwing her hair through the handle.

"That's the thing." The light came into the 5th floor. "I've charted stars, and they're always constant. But these," She pointed to her painting once again. "They come into the sky every year on my birthday, Mom. Only on my birthday. And I can't help but feel like they're…they're meant for me." Gothel just looked at her like she was insane and walked towards the window she came in. "I need to see them, Mom. And not just from my window, in person. Up close. I have to know what they are." Gothel just continued walking towards the window.

"You want to go outside? Why, Rapunzel, You don't know what it's like out there. I do. The world is cruel and wicked. I'm the only one you can trust, Rapunzel. You know why we stay in this apartment. How can I protect you, girl, unless you stay in here?"

Gothel's lecture was cut into two pieces because Rapunzel wanted her to know her opinion. "I know, but I just figured, you know, since it's my birthday-" But Gothel continued her speech about the outside world.

"Trust me, daughter, It's a scary world out there. There are so many things that could hurt you. Like: Thugs, Ruffians, Poison Ivy, Quicksand, Cannibals, Snakes, Spiders with the hourglass shape, the plague, large bugs, men with pointy teeth. Oh, the list goes on. This is why I keep you hidden. People would use you. You wouldn't survive. Look at you. Tripping on your own hair. Ditsy, immature, clumsy, naïve. I only keep you here because I love you. I understand and I'm here to help. All I have is one request. Rapunzel?" By this time, Gothel was holding Rapunzel and stroking her hair.

"Yes?" Rapunzel was happy. She had her Mom to protect her. She didn't know what she would do without her. Gothel looked straight into her eyes and lost her smile.

"Don't ever ask to leave this apartment, again." Now she was practically glaring at Rapunzel. This brought Rapunzel out of her state of being terrified into sadness of never leaving. She looked down, unable to look her Mom in the eye.

"Yes, Mom." Gothel then lost her glare as she smiled at Rapunzel and lifted her face to see her.

"I love you very much, dear."

"I love you more."

"I love you most." Gothel then kissed Rapunzel's forehead. But quickly, in order to get to her work on time. She summarized her speech. "Don't forget it, you'll regret it. Mother knows best." She then put her hoodie on and slid down Rapunzel's hair to the ground below. "Ta-ta! I'll ee you in a bit, my flower!" She reached the bottom and was on her way.

"I'll be here." Rapunzel said calmly covering the sadness in her voice until Gothel left. "Forever." She just sat there, thinking about not going outside, letting her hair sway in the wind.


	3. Meet Flynn Rider

Flynn and his co-thieves were driving down Beach Boulevard when Flynn noticed something on a poster wall. He looked closer when driving past. A wanted poster with his face plastered on it.

"What!" He immediately turned around and made a dead stop by the poster wall. It was okay because the police were far behind. He ripped the poster of the wall and looked at it. The twins turned around and followed Flynn to where he was. They got out of the car wondering what he was doing. "No, no, no, no, no. This is bad. This is very bad. This is really bad. The brothers jut looked at him blankly. Flynn then put the poster next to his face. "They just can't get my nose right." On the poster, his nose was big. In reality, it was normal.

The twins thought that it was stupid to stop driving to comment on a poster. "Who cares?" one of the brothers said.

"Well it's easy for you to say." Flynn pointed to their wanted poster. "You guys look amazing." He stared at their poster in awe. Until he heard sirens. They all looked down the street and the police were catching up with them. Flynn quickly shoved his poster into the bag along with the crown and the nail. The twins got into their car and sped away. Flynn got onto his bike and caught up soon. Unfortunately, road work was being done and the road was blocked with a fence. They slammed on the brakes.

"Okay, help me open it up a bit, and I'll get in and unlock it." He looked at them waiting for the help. The twins looked at each other with an evil glint in their eyes.

"Give us the bag first." He held out his hand gesturing for Flynn to hand it over.

"What? I just…" Flynn had a shocked face. He was the one who stole it. He should keep it. Besides, he didn't trust them that much to share the profits. He held the bag tight on his side. He put on a stern face to convince them. Earn their trust. "I can't believe that after all we've been through together, you don't trust me?" He ended this sentence with puppy dog eyes. But as he looked at the twins, they didn't have a reaction. They didn't even blink. "Ouch." He gave up the bag but he had a plan. The twins opened the gate as much as possible. Flynn drove past it just barely. He then stopped once he was inside.

"Now unlock the gate, pretty boy!" The brothers were still holding the gate open. Flynn didn't bother getting off his bike but still looked at the twins.

"Sorry." He held the bag in the air and smiled as he said this. "My hands are full." With that, he drove like the wind, leaving a dust storm for the twins.

"What?" The brother exclaimed as he searched himself for the bag, hoping that what he just saw was only his imagination. Unfortunately, the bag was now in the hands of Flynn Rider. "Rider!" he shouted at the top of his lungs holding a firm fist in the air. They weren't thinking and the police had caught up to them and took them in. But Flynn was still on the move. He must have driven for an hour and ended up in a small town called Big Bear. The other police cars went back to the station with the twins and let the chief handle Rider with his police dog. A German Sheppard named Max, to be exact. Unfortunately, Flynn's bike was running low on gas. His speed was decreasing.

"We've got him now, Maximus!" The chief pulled over the car and Flynn ducked in hopes that he wouldn't see him. Luckily the chief had no idea where he wandered off to. Max decided to sniff him out and was let off his leash. Flynn came out of hiding and took the chiefs pepper spray. The chief quickly turned around and tried to attack. But he was the one being attacked. Flynn sprayed his face. The chief screamed in pain. But this wasn't enough. Flynn gave his a clean punch square between his eyes and knocked him out.

"Ha-ha!" He started to walk away when Max jumped in front of him and bit the end of the bag. "No! Bad dog! Let go!" They were fighting against each other and somehow made it into the middle of the forest coming up to a cliff. "GIVE ME THAT!" They each pulled with all their might and the bag went flying onto a long branch on a tree hanging off the cliff. Both were waiting to see if they would have to jump. Flynn took action first and ran towards it. But the dog was running faster. Flynn quickly pulled the dogs front legs back and kept running. The dog reacted fast and bit Flynn's feet pulling him back. The dog climbed up the tree and onto the enormous branch. Flynn grabbed onto the dog but the dog shook him off and Flynn fell. Not far considering as how he was hanging onto the branch. The dog was stomping across the branch trying to get Flynn to fall off. Flynn climbed his way to the end of the branch and caught the bag right before it was about to fall. The dog glared at him. "Ha!" Flynn was holding the bag up in victory until he heard a crack. They both had shock in their eyes. Finally, the branch gave in and sent them both down into a small forest, screaming in terror. The dog landed safely on a huge pile of leaves. By now, Flynn already had a hiding spot behind a rock. The dog got up and tried to sniff out Flynn. He passed the rock that Flynn was hiding behind. Flynn got up quietly and tried to rest against a moss-covered rock wall. But it wasn't moss. He fell through it not realizing that he was now in a small tunnel. He hid quietly behind the curtain of leaves as Max came to investigate. But he thought it was moss and moved on.

Flynn started to walk through the tunnel finally feeling safe from the police dog for once. He kept glancing back hoping the dog hadn't realized it was a curtain. He reached the end of the tunnel and saw what he thought he never would have seen in the middle of a forest. An apartment. _Must be abandoned_ he thought. He heard the dog bark and realized that he needed to get in. Seeing as there wasn't a door or window he could get though until about 40 feet in the air, he decided to climb. He got to the top and the window was open. He climbed through and shut the window immediately. He let out a sigh of relief as he opened the bag and looked inside. "Alone at last." He smiled to himself. Until…

_**Clang!**_ A frying pan went flying against his head and knocked him out. He fell to the floor.

Rapunzel stood there, holding the frying pan above her head, in a state of shock. Then she let out a squeal. Not of happiness, but of terror. She ran to the center of the room and hid behind a mannequin. She looked over the mannequin still scared half to death. He was still lying there unconscious. She moved towards him holding the frying pan in front of her ready to take action if he woke up. She looked to Pascal who gave her a shrug. She used the frying pan to move his head sideways. She saw half his face including his nose and his mouth. His long hair was covering his eyes. She again looked at Pascal. Pascal moved to the drawing her Mom made of a man with pointy teeth. She held the pan to where the handle was opening his mouth. To her dismay, he didn't have pointy teeth._ Not pointy_ she thought.

"Huh." A face of curiosity spread across her face. She moved the strands of hair that was blocking her from seeing his entire face with the handle of the pan. He looked peaceful. And attractive. She gasped softly upon seeing his face. He must have been dreaming a sweet dream. She started to move a little closer to him to get a better view. But he awoke very quickly.

"Huh?" All she could see was his eye. But she was still in shock that if she let this man stay conscious that he would use her for her power. She quickly turned the frying pan so she was holding it by its handle. She hit him in the head and knocked him unconscious again. This time making sure she hit him hard enough. She then realized, _Where am I gonna hide him?_

She tied her hair around his waist and dragged him across the living room when she looked at the wardrobe that had nothing in it. The wardrobe was big enough to where Flynn could fit in it. First, Rapunzel tried pushing him in but the wardrobe was too high. Then, she dropped him in and closed the doors, but her hair was still tied to him and her hair wouldn't come out. Then she got him in it partially but he kept falling and she pushed him and right as he was about to fall again, she shut the doors. She started to walk away happy that she did it. But the doors opened and he fell on top of her making her shriek. She tried this again and she got him in. She looked at the door and 4 fingers were poking out. She pushed in one of them and it stayed. She pushed in the other 3 and brought a chair under the handles on the doors and backed away slowly holding her frying pan.

"Okay. Okay." She was still backing away from the closet. "I've got a guy in my closet." This time she started to look at herself in the mirror next to her. "I've got a guy in my closet." She then realized that it was perfect. "I've got a guy in my closet! Ha-ha!" She moved her hand to her hip. "Too weak to handle myself out there, huh, Mom?" She chuckled at the thought of going outside because of what she had done. "Well, tell that to my frying pan." She was swinging it around until it hit her head lightly. She got a little dizzy. Then she looked at what the man had dropped. A bag that apparently had a nail in it. She took it out and looked at it. It had 2 letters on it. 'Walt Disney'. She put it back and pulled out the crown. She looked at it and didn't know what to do with it or what its purpose was. She placed it on her arm thinking it was a bracelet of some sort. She looked at Pascal but he shook his head. She took it off and looked through the one diamond at Pascal. He still shook his head. Then she turned to the mirror. She placed the crown on her head and looked at herself with wide eyes. She knows that it's meant to be there that she doesn't even look to Pascal for approval. Pascal looked at her in astonishment. Then shakes his head. Rapunzel doesn't even notice Pascal's movement. She almost doesn't notice her Mom calling her.

"Rapunzel!" Rapunzel is brought out of her thoughts and hides the bag and the crown in an empty trash bag. "Let down your hair!" Rapunzel rushes to the window so her Mom won't suspect anything. But she's still putting Pascal in his hiding spot and Gothel calls again. "Rapunzel, I'm not getting any younger down here!" Then Rapunzel comes to the window finally.

"Give me a sec, Mom!" Rapunzel shouts as she hangs her hair on the hook and lets down her hair. Gothel had a smile down there.

"I have a big surprise!" Gothel yells as she holds onto the hair.

"Uh, I do, too!" Rapunzel says in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Ooh, I bet my surprise is bigger!" Rapunzel wonders if maybe her Mom changed her mind and will let her go outside and see the exploding lights. Then she remembers how her Mom glared when she told her to never ask to leave the apartment.

"I seriously doubt it." Rapunzel said in a whisper. Gothel had arrived at the 5th floor. She sat on the ledge before coming in.

"I brought back frozens! I'm going to make Pizza Rolls for Dinner! Your favorite. Surprise!" Yeah. She definitely hadn't changed her mind.

"Well, Mom," Rapunzel started as she took her hair off the hook. "There's something I wanna tell you." Before she could get any further, Gothel cut her off.

"Oh, Rapunzel, you know I hate leaving you after a fight, especially when I've done absolutely nothing wrong."

"Okay," Rapunzel started to walk towards her wardrobe. "I've been thinking a lot about what you said and…"

"I hope you're not still talking about the stars."

"Exploding lights. And yes. I'm leading up to that."

"Because I really thought we dropped the problem, sweetheart."

"No, Mom, I'm just saying," She had her hand on the chair ready to open the wardrobe. "You think I'm not strong enough to handle myself out there."

"Oh, darling, I know you're not strong enough to handle yourself out there." Gothel turned to face her daughter.

"But if you'd just—"

"Rapunzel, we're done talking about this."

"Trust me"

"Rapunzel."

"I know what I'm—"

"Rapunzel!"

"Oh, C'mon!"

This time, Gothel had enough. "Enough with the lights, Rapunzel! You are not leaving this apartment! EVER!" Rapunzel looked at her mother without blinking in a state of fear. She slowly removed her hand from the chair. Gothel realized that she crossed the line of bad parenting. She took a seat by the table. "Oh, great! Now I'm the bad guy." Rapunzel was still processing what had just been said while looking at her painting. Knowing that she'll never see them.

"All I was gonna say, Mom, is that," Rapunzel stood in front of the wardrobe. "I know what I want for my birthday now." She tried as hard as possible to not show her mom how truly upset she was.

"And what is that?" Gothel asked still holding her head in her hands. Rapunzel came up with something on the spot.

"New paint?" She pondered for a moment to think of a specific paint. "The paint made from the purple shells you brought me once?"

"Well that is a very long trip, Rapunzel. Almost 3 days' time." Rapunzel wondered if there was anything she could have for her birthday.

"I just thought it was a better present than the…" She knew they weren't stars. But she thought she might as well let her Mom have her way. "…stars." Gothel knew that it was important to Rapunzel that she gets something nice for her birthday and something that she wants. Gothel sighed in defeat. She walked over to Rapunzel.

"You're sure you'll be alright on your own?" Rapunzel hugged her Mom and Gothel gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"I know I'm safe as long as I'm here."

5 minutes later, Gothel put on her hoodie and took the small carry-on type of bag from Rapunzel that she packed. "I'll be back in 3 days." She gave her daughter one last hug. "I love you very much, dear."

"I love you more." Rapunzel let down her hair as Gothel took hold of it.

"I love you most." Gothel was now on the ground at the entrance of the tunnel. She turned around and waved goodbye to Rapunzel. Rapunzel waved back and Gothel was now through the tunnel. Now, Rapunzel had to check of the guy she hid in her closet.


	4. Making A Deal

Sorry about the delay. Thank you to everyone who is reading this. I really appreciate it. And to those who put it under their favorite stories. If you have the DVD or Blu-Ray, You know that I'm going in the order of the scenes. So there will be 12 chapters in all. So chapter 4 will be Rapunzel and Flynn making a deal and Rapunzel's bipolar time. My favorite chapter will be chapter 8 considering as it's the "best day of Rapunzel's life". But enough with the future chapters!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!** But I really want Eugene to be mine.

**Chapter 4:**

Rapunzel held her frying pan once again pointing it towards the wardrobe. She slowly moved the chair way from the wardrobe with caution. She feared that the wardrobe doors would swing open and he would fall on her again. But the doors stayed shut as she moved to the center of the living room. She was using the chair as a guard in case he fell out. She took a deep breath and looked at the wardrobe again.

"Okay." She said softly while taking some of her hair in her fist. She threw the hair with good aim and the hair tied around the handle of the wardrobe door. She pulled and the doors opened right away. She looked inside and he was still unconscious, but in a strange position. She was surprised that he was still there in that position. But he didn't stay like that for long as he fell on to the floor. She gasped, still in shock that a man was in her apartment. He landed in another strange position with his butt sticking up in the air. He then slid down to where he looked like he was just sleeping on the floor. She slowly walked towards him with the frying held over her head ready to attack if he were to wake up. But then she got an idea. "Hmm."

A few minutes later she climbed up to of the railings and hid behind it after tying Flynn to a chair. She pulled her hair into the one light that seemed like one of those police interrogation lights. The entire apartment was dark besides the one light in the center of the living room. Flynn was now in the middle of the living room still unconscious. She had Pascal wake him up while she kept her hiding spot.

Pascal got on his shoulder. He whacked the side of his face and blended into his black leather vest, with a terrified facial expression. But Flynn didn't budge. Pascal turned green again and whacked the side of his face with his tail. He poked him too, but nothing seemed to work. Then he got an idea. He faced Flynn now and looked at him. Then his tongue shot out of his mouth and into Flynn's ear. This caused his to wake up right away.

"GAH!" Flynn exclaimed with wide open eyes. Then he looked around and down to notice that he was tied to a chair. He struggled to get free but he was tied very tightly, and he couldn't escape. He started to follow the rope and realized that couldn't be a rope. Twine, maybe? But even that wasn't the same. It was soft and felt like… "Is this…hair?" he said as his eyes trailed to where the owner of all this hair was. The hair finally stopped somewhere around the ceiling.

"Struggling," Rapunzel started to talk as Flynn had his eyes on the barely visible shadow. "Struggling is pointless." She covered her face again with her frying pan.

"Huh?" Flynn was still wondering who and what was talking. Rapumzel jumped down from the railing that she was hiding behind. She hid again but behind a tall chair. She loosened her grip on the frying pan and showed her face in the shadows.

"I know why you're here." Flynn wondered if she actually did and was considering asking to stay for a while. But then he remembered that he was Flynn Rider who gets whatever he wants. He didn't need to ask but then again he was tied up. "And I'm not afraid of you." Rapunzel continued.

"What?" Flynn asked. He was still confused as to who was talking. Until she stepped into the light. She had blonde hair. A lot of it. And he had to admit: she was kind of attractive. You know if she lost some of the hair.

"Who are you?" Flynn wondered how she couldn't know who he was. Then again, maybe she wouldn't recognize him because of his nose. This was a big possibility. "And how did you find me?" Flynn wasn't listening.

"A-ha." He said to himself knowing she most likely didn't recognize him because of the difference between his nose and the nose on the posters. Rapunzel asked her questions again.

"Who are you? And how did you find me?" She raised the pan over her head about to whack him again. This caught Flynn's attention and he listened to her question this time and cleared his throat. He needed to be suave.

"I don't know who you are or how I found you. But may I just say" He lifted his head and gave her a look that worked on many women before. "Hi." He raised his eyebrows and brought them down again in hopes of her untying him and letting him leave. Rapunzel was baffled by this movement. She still held the pan above her head. But she softened her glare because of her confusion. "How ya doin'? The name's Flynn Rider." Rapunzel still was confused by this. Of course she had never even seen a guy before. She still thought he was attractive but she didn't understand that he was flirting. "How's your day goin', huh?" Rapunzel just scoffed at this and pointed the frying pan to his face.

"Who else knows where I am, Flynn Rider?" Rapunzel was now glaring at him. Flynn moved his head back avoiding the pan from hitting him again.

"Alright, Blondie," But before he could say anything else, she introduced herself while still holding the pan.

"Rapunzel." He processed this._ Odd name_ he thought.

"Gesundheit. Here's the deal. I was in a situation. Running through the valley. I came across this apartment and— " He remembered that he had the bag and now he didn't have it. He looked around and didn't see it. "OH NO! WHERE IS MY BAG!" He yelled at the girl.

"I've hidden it." She crossed her arm and smirked at him. "Somewhere you'll never find it." He looked around and noticed a pot that the bag could fit in.

"It's in that empty trash bag, isn't it?" He pointed to the trash bag and Rapunzel looked at him with a face that said 'come on!' What happened next, he wasn't expecting. It was really quick.

_**Clang!**_ She hit him for the third time today. It wasn't pleasant but it knocked him out. He did feel a sharp pain to his head but it disappeared after he was out. He woke up about 5 minutes later. He looked over to his side and noticed the frog with its tongue in his ear once again.

"GAH!" This sent Pascal flying. Flynn rubbed his ear on his shoulder trying to get the saliva out. "Will you stop that?" Rapunzel was standing in front of him the same way she was 5 minutes ago.

"Now it's hidden where you'll never find it." He just had to face the fact that she was probably going to want something in return for giving him his bag back. "So, what do you plan on doing with my hair. Cut it?" Why was she bringing her hair into this?

"What?" He had no idea why she was making a fuss over her hair.

"Sell it?" She pointed the pan at him again. He was still very confused. He decided to tell the truth about his want for her hair.

"No! Look, the only thing I want to do with your hair is to get out of it. LITERALLY!" He struggled to get out of the chair again but it didn't work.

"Well you're not—Wait. You don't want my hair?" Now she was confused.

"Why the hell would I want your hair? Look I was being chased, I saw the apartment, I climbed it. End of story." He had a straight face that showed nothing. This girl was definitely strange if she thought that he wanted her hair. She started to believe him. She stood in front of him.

"You're telling the truth?" she asked, still holding the pan to his face. He had to convince her if he wanted to be free from the chair, and find a different hiding spot, and get his bag back.

"Yes." He stared at her. Rapunzel still had doubt. Not much but she decided maybe she should believe him.

"Hmm." Pascal ran from her shoulder to the end of the pan and stared at him, looking for flaws. Flynn just sat there looking at the chameleon while it tested his strength. Then Pascal motioned with his tail to talk to Rapunzel, privately. Rapunzel backed away from Flynn slowly and turned while holding Pascal with the pan under her arm. "I know, I need someone to take me." Pascal squeaked as if having a conversation with her. "I think he's telling the truth, too." He squeaked once again. "He doesn't have fangs." Pascal squeaked trying to say 'you can't have him take you' or maybe 'he's a thief!' but Rapunzel talked ending the conversation. "But what choice do I have?" Pascal squeaked in agreement. She stood up straight and sighed. Flynn was trying to move the chair by force. But nothing was working still. "Okay, Flynn Rider, I'm prepared to offer you a deal."

The problem with that is that Flynn didn't do deals. Either the other person didn't hold out their end or he didn't hold out his. So he already knew that it didn't matter what the deal was. He wasn't gonna do it. He didn't trust her. "Deal?"

Rapunzel was moving to her painting that she covered with a sheet. She grabbed her hair and pulled. "Look this way." As she pulled, he spun around twice. The chair was now on it two front legs. He knew that this was not going to end well. He was right. He was face planted into the floor. She didn't seem to care as she pulled the sheet off her painting. It now revealed her sitting on a hill watching the fireworks. "Do you know what these are?" She looked at Flynn with a blank stare. Flynn moved his head barely so he could see what it was that she was pointing at.

"You mean the fireworks they do for the lost daughter of California?" The pain from the stone floor hitting his face started to go away.

"Fireworks?" She whispered to herself. "I knew they weren't stars." She seemed very excited that she was right and her Mom was wrong for once. "Well, anyway, tomorrow night, they will light the sky with these fireworks. You," she pointed at him with her pan. "will act as my guide, take me to these fireworks and return me home safely. Then, and only then, will I return your bag. That is my deal." She was expecting him to agree. Little did she know that this was the infamous Flynn Rider she was trying to strike a deal with. Flynn pushed himself off his fingertips and was now sideways on the floor.

"Yeah, no can do. Unfortunately, the Government and I aren't exactly 'simpatico' at the moment. So I won't be taking you anywhere." Rapunzel had a straight face. She didn't know whether to give up or get it her way. She looked at Pascal. He motioned to toughen up. Rapunzel then grabbed her hair and pulled it so the chair was now on all fours.

"Something brought you here, _Flynn Rider_. Call it anything you want: Fate, Destiny," Flynn thought to himself _I was looking for a place to hide._

"A police dog." She was walking towards him, gathering her hair.

"So I have made the decision to trust you."

"A horrible decision, really." Now she was close enough to him to where she could slap him.

"But trust me when I tell you this." She tugged on her hair and the chair was on its front legs again. He was about to fall until she held him up with her hand on the end of the chair with her bodyweight. He was looking at her. They must have been a foot apart. She was glaring at him now. "You can tear this tower apart, brick by brick. But without my help, you will never find your precious bag." He decided to believe her at that moment. He cleared his throat.

"Let me get this straight. I take you to see the Huntington Beach Fireworks, Bring you back here, and you'll give me my bag back?"

"I promise." She said very seriously. She always took promises seriously. He just stared at her in disbelief. "And when I promise something, I never break that promise." He raised an eyebrow still not believing her. "Ever!" He looked at her shoulder and Pascal nodded. He was now a little convinced. But he didn't want to do anything except get out of that chair.

"Alright, I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. Here comes the smolder." He looked down, preparing himself. He looked up at her with pursed lips and his eyebrows raised with his eyes turned into slits. This worked many times with women he'd been with. They always gave in. All Rapunzel did was darken her glare, with a bit of confusion, wondering what the hell he was doing. He still had the look on his face wondering why she didn't give in. "This is kind of an off day for me. This doesn't normally happen." She still didn't have a reaction to the Smolder. "Fine!" He gave up. Nothing was gonna stop this girl. "I'll take you to the fireworks." She gasped and let go of the chair.

"REALLY?" She was so excited as Flynn fell to the floor. She didn't notice until she heard a thud. She looked over at Flynn whose face was smashed against the floor again. "Oops."

The fall was making him gasp for breath. "You broke my smolder." It sounded like he was gonna cry, to be honest.

**5 minutes later…**

He was climbing down the apartment wall trying not to fall. He then looked up to Rapunzel who was now in a lavender T-shirt, jean skirt, and black leggings. Still no shoes. "You comin', Blondie?" He shouted about halfway down the apartment. She was looking outside, standing on the ledge, about to step foot on the ground for the first time. She looked down at the ground about 40 feet away from it.

"Maybe it's better that I stay in. It's all so close. Should I? No." She then hung her hair on the hook. "Here I go!" Pascal tied a few strands of her hair to himself as a safety belt. She looked at him and he motioned that he was ready. She tossed her hair out of the apartment and slid down. Flynn looked at the hair then up. He got as close as he could to the apartment so she wouldn't hit him. "WHOO-HOO!" She was laughing the whole way down. She gasped about ten feet above. She then grasped her hair and was just above the ground. She stared below her without blinking. She never expected to be able to do this an hour ago. You know, before she met Flynn. She finally let her feet touch the grass. She stood on it. She let her hair off the hook and lay down in the grass. She took in the scent as if there was no tomorrow. She turned so she was on her stomach. She looked at a flower swaying in the summer breeze. The petals flew away. She got up and chased them until she landed in the small stream. She gasped and looked down. She finally spoke. "For like the first time ever, I'm completely free!" She threw the water above her. Her attention was brought to a bird flying away. She then looked at the tunnel that she saw her Mom enter and exit so many times. She started to walk towards it. "I could go running, and dancing, and chasing, and leaping, and bounding, hair flying, heart pounding, and splashing and reeling, then finally feeling," She shouted this last sentence. "THAT'S WHEN MY LIFE BEGINS!" A dozen birds flew away.

Flynn on the other hand was now at the base of the apartment running after the blonde freak, afraid he's probably gonna lose her already in the forest. He finally made it to the end of the tunnel and she was standing there, screaming at the top of her lungs, "I can't believe I did this!" She laughed a little then grabbed her hair. "Mom would be furious." They continued on their trip. Along the way out of the forest, she kept stopping saying stuff like:

"Well that's okay. I mean, what she doesn't know won't kill her right?"

"Oh my God! This would kill her!"

"This is so fun!"

"I am a horrible daughter. I'm going back."

"I am never going back! Whoo-hoo!"

"I am a despicable human being!" This last one she tied her hair to the branch of a tree and swung around it.

"WHOO-HOO! BEST! DAY! EVER!" About 5 minutes later, she was crying against a rock. Flynn decided to step up to the plate. He cleared his throat. It didn't seem like she noticed. He squatted down next to her. He had a plan to get his bag back early.

"You know, I can't help but notice you are a bit bipolar at the moment." He placed a hand on his chin as if pondering something. She stopped crying and listened to Flynn.

"What?" She looked at him with a red face from sobbing. He stood up and raised his voice a notch.

"Now I'm only picking up bits and pieces, over-protective mom, grounded-for-life worthy road trip. I mean, this is serious stuff. But let me ease your conscience. This is part of growing up." He now had a cheery tone and Pascal was on his shoulder. "A little rebellion, a little adventure. That's good, healthy even." He wiped the chameleon off his shoulder. Rapunzel wiped her face with her arm.

"You think?" She had a small smile. He leaned over her.

"I know. You're way over-thinking this, trust me. Does your mom deserve it? No." Little did he know that her mom actually did deserve it. "Would this break her heart and crush her soul. Of course!" He stood up straight and crossed his arms. "But you've just got to do it." She gasped.

"'Break her heart'?"

"In half."

"'Crush her soul'?" She grabbed her hair. He squeezed the small grape he had in his hand.

"Like a grape."

"She would be heart-broken. You're right." He lifted her up. His plan was starting to work.

"I am, aren't I? Oh, bother." He looked away. "Alright, I can't believe I'm saying this but," He started to walk towards her supplies. A.K.A. her pan and Pascal. "I'm letting you out of the deal."

"What?" She looked at him.

"That's right. But don't thank me." He grabbed the pan and her pet. "Let's just turn around and get you home. Here's your pan. Here's your frog." He gave her her pan and put the chameleon on her shoulder. "I get back my bag. You get back a Mom-Daughter relationship based on mutual trust and _voila!_ We part ways as unlikely friends." She then pushed him away as they were walking back.

"No! I am going to see those fireworks!" Obviously he hadn't evaded her that easily.

"Oh, come on! What's it gonna take to get my bag back?" She pointed the pan to his face and he raised his hands in surrender.

"I will use this." Suddenly there was a noise and a bush rustled. Rapunzel jumped onto Flynn's back and had her legs wrapped around him with wide open eyes. "Is it ruffians? Thugs? Bikers? Have they come for me?" She had the pan pointed at the bush. Then the rustling stopped as a bunny popped out from behind it. Flynn rolled his eyes.

"Stay calm. It can probably smell fear." She looked at him and realized he was being sarcastic. She quickly got off his back.

"Oh." She blushed a little. "Sorry. I guess I'm just a bit…jumpy." He fixed his black vest.

"Probably be best if we avoid ruffians, thugs, and bikers though." She chuckled self-consciously.

"Yeah. That'd probably be best." She smiled. He then thought about her response and had another plan.

"Are you hungry? I know a great place for lunch." She was a bit hungry. And she trusted him, so she was sure whatever he picked would be okay.

"Uh, where?" He grabbed her arm.

"Oh, don't worry." He started to walk away with her. "You'll know it when you smell it!"


	5. The Snuggly Duckling

A/N: Thank you for all the good reviews. I just entered an online school so I'm spending any spare minute I can to work on this. And the fact that my computer has a virus and is always shutting off. I'll try to upload as soon as possible. Here's chapter 5! Fair warning: I thought it sucked. Please review and tell me what you thought.

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine! Besides the idea of fireworks and a church burning down in the second to next chapter. Whoops! Pretend you didn't hear that. ;)**

Max was on the edge of the forest. He was trying to sniff out Flynn but hadn't found him yet. Not that anyone could besides Gothel. He didn't give up though. Finally he jumped up and noticed a 'Wanted' poster with someone who looked very familiar. He lifted his front paw and covered the nose. It was Flynn. Max bit it by the end and shredded it with his teeth. He seemed to think that would help him on his search.

Suddenly, he heard the snapping of tree branches on the ground. His ears shot up and he looked in the direction of where the noise came from. He was sure that it was Flynn. He crawled to a rock to hide behind that had a bit of moss on it. He heard the footsteps approaching. He then jumped from behind the rock barked.

Gothel stepped back not expecting a police dog in the middle of the forest. Max saw that it wasn't Flynn and dropped his ears in disappointment. Gothel let out a sigh of relief knowing that this dog wasn't ripping her to shreds like other police dogs. "A police dog." Her eyes then widened. "Where's your owner?" She wasn't far yet. She knew that the state hadn't stopped looking for their lost daughter. "Rapunzel." Her eyes widened even more now. She turned around in the direction of the apartment. "Rapunzel!" She ran back to the apartment leaving the dog behind. After a minute or two, she arrived at the end of the tunnel and was now at the base of the apartment. "Rapunzel! Let down your hair!"

No answer.

"Rapunzel?"

Still no answer.

She gave up and ran to the other side of the apartment and was pulling desperately at the door that she locked up with wood nailed to it. She finally got in and was sprinting up the stairs hoping that Rapunzel was only taking a nap. She was finally at the fifth floor and ran to Rapunzels room. She pulled the blankets and sheets away from the bed and only saw a few pillows. She was now searching the place top to bottom. "RAPUNZEL!" She ripped the curtains away to shed light in the room. There wasn't a thing that showed that Rapunzel was here. She held her face in shock and fear. Her one way to an eternal life was gone.

Her thoughts were cut short as something was shining in her eye. She looked at the object that was sparkling under the bottom stair. She gasped and walked towards it. She bent down and pulled off the bottom stair and pulled out a brown bag. She looked through it and found the crown of Aurora hidden inside. She dropped it wondering where the hell Rapunzel would have gotten that. She dug through the rest of the bag and found a 'wanted' poster of Flynn Rider. She knew that Rapunzel was outside. But now, she knew she wasn't alone. She quickly ran to her bedroom dresser and pulled out a .22.

**Later on the edge of Big Bear,**

Flynn and Rapunzel were walking for a while since He didn't know where he left his motorcycle. "I know it's around here somewhere." He turned around and saw the restaurant. "Ah! There it is!" He walked towards it. Rapunzel followed. "The Snuggly Duckling. Don't worry. It's a very nice place. Perfect for you. Don't want you scaring and giving up on this whole journey now, do we?" He placed his hands on his hips. She still held her frying pan close but smiling.

"Well," she started. "I do like ducklings." This was all a part of his plan to get her back home. He had to convince her that the world was dangerous.

"YAY!" He pulled her arm almost out of socket as they ran to the restaurant entrance. He swung open the door. "Garcon! Your finest table, please!" Then Rapunzel's eyes were wide open as she gasped. The place was filled with hardcore bikers. Ones capable of stealing and cutting hair. Even one with a hook for a hand. Rapunzel lifted her frying pan and pointed it at all bikers within a 3 foot radius. Flynn smiled to himself and forced her to walk in. "You smell that? Take a deep breath through the nose." He inhaled through his nose very loudly. "Really let that seep in. What are you getting? Because to me, it's part man smell and the other part is really bad man smell. I don't know why, but overall, it just smells like the color brown. Your thoughts?" Suddenly Rapunzel gaped as a biker grabbed her hair. She gathered as much hair as she could and was running away from that biker.

"That's a loooooot of hair." He looked to Flynn.

"She's growing it out." He then got an idea. "Is that blood in your mustache? Goldie, look at this! Look at all the blood in his mustache! Geez, that's a lot of blood." Rapunzel was still backing away from the biker and Flynn. She bumped into another biker sitting at the bar. He growled at her. She turned around and pointed the frying pan towards him. Flynn started walking towards her as him plan was going into action. "Hey. You don't look so good, Blondie. We should get you home and call it a day. Probably better off. This is a 5 star joint after all, and if you can't handle this place," He was now walking her towards the entrance of the place. "Well, maybe you should be back in your apartment." But as they were about to leave, A huge biker slammed the door shut, making Flynn and Rapunzel jump back.

The biker had his hand covering a 'wanted' poster of Flynn. "Is this you?" He pointed to the poster. His hand was only covering his nose. Flynn moved his hand away to reveal an abnormally long nose.

"Oh, now they're just being mean." Flynn continued to stare at the poster with Rapunzel hiding behind him like a scared kitten. The biker with the hook walked up to him.

"Oh it's him, alright. Greno, go find the fuzz!" Then he grabbed Flynn by his Harley-Davidson vest. "That reward is gonna buy me a new hook." Flynn's eyes widened when his hook was extremely close to his face. But Flynn was taken by another big biker behind the bar.

"I could use the money!" Then the biggest biker grabbed him. He must have been 7 feet tall like Andre the giant.

"What about me? I'm broke!" Then all of a sudden all the bikers crowded around him, yelling their protests.

"Get back!"

"Mine!"

"Let Go!"

"Give him here!"

Rapunzel was behind all the bikers, worried now. "Please, stop!" The entire bar was in a brawl, almost tearing Flynn, limb from limb.

"We can work this out!" Flynn shouted trying to get them to let go of him.

"Hey, leave him alone!" She tried to reach out for Flynn but still hadn't gotten past the bikers. Flynn made another attempt at talking them out of it.

"Gentlemen, please—" But he didn't finish since someone face pounded him. Then Rapunzel tried to whack some sense into them with her frying pan but that didn't work.

"Give me back my guide, Bikers!" They finally had a good hold on Flynn and even though he was squirming around, he couldn't get free of their grasp. The biker with the hook was raising his fist in the air, ready to knock him out. Rapunzel tossed her hair over a rusty pipe that was bendable hanging off the ceiling. She pulled it so it would lift higher. It was right above the biker with the hook. Flynn was still wiggling but nothing was working.

"Not the nose! Not the nose!" He screamed with a worried face. Finally, Rapunzel let go of her hair which made the pipe hit the hooked biker in the head. The whole bar fell silent and looked at the girl with 70 feet of hair. Even Flynn was staring at her in shock as well.

"Put him down!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. The hooked biker looked over to her with shock now. Rapunzel let out a sigh of relief finally getting their attention. "Okay, I don't know where I am, and I need him," she pointed at Flynn with her pan. "to take me to see the fireworks 'cause I've been dreaming about them my entire life." She explained in one breath. "Find your humanity! Haven't any of you ever had a dream?" The hooked biker took out his gun and started to walk towards Rapunzel. The tallest biker put Flynn down on a giant knife sticking out of the wall. _Holy shit! She's courageous!_ Flynn thought. The hooked biker was pretty close to her but wasn't pointing the gun at her. He looked up and said to himself in a trance.

"I had a dream, once." He then shot his gun at a wimpy guy in the corner who dodged it quickly. He clicked a button on the jukebox. A song called 'For whom the bell tolls' by Metallica stopped playing quickly. "I know I'm scary. Violence-wise, yeah, my hands aren't the cleanest." He was now walking towards a small stage. "But besides my looks and temper and hook, I've always wanted to be a concert pianist. Can't you see on the great stage performing Mozart?" He was now on the small stage playing piano. "I'd rather be deadly for my killer show tune medley, 'cause way down deep inside I've got a dream. See, I'm not as cruel and vicious as people see me. Even though I like breaking femurs, you can count me with the dreamers. Like everybody else, I've got a dream." Of course he was talking at the time. Suddenly, all the bikers broke out into a harmonic song.

Just outside of the bar, a woman with a red hoodie was approaching it. She uncovered her head to reveal black, curly hair.

Back in the bar, Rapunzel was on the stage listening to the hooked biker play piano while the rest of the bar sang a song. Another biker got up on the stage and talked a little about himself before breaking out into song. But he tried his best to rhyme. "I've got scars and lumps and bruises." He then lifted his arm and talked about it while pointing at it. "Plus something here that oozes. And let's not even mention my complexion. But besides my extra toe, and my goiter, and my nose, I really do wanna make a love connection." He jumped off the stage as he gave Rapunzel a flower. "Can't you see me with a special little lady?" He was in a boat with another drunken biker. About 3 feet tall. Wearing a diaper and pretending to be cupid. "Rowing in a rowboat down the stream?" He got out and tied 'Cupid' to a rope and sent him flying around the room. "Though I'm one disgusting blighter, I'm a lover. Not a fighter. 'Cause way down deep inside, I've got a dream!" He started to sing. "I've got a dream! I've got a dream! And I know one day romance will reign supreme!"

Through this entire display, Flynn was still on the knife unamused by the show before him. He had narrowed eyes completely bored, just wanting to get down. Sure, they're all big softies, but they can't bring a man down from a knife jutting out of the wall? The big-nosed biker continued to sing.

"Though my face leaves people screaming, there's a child behind it, dreaming." He looked at a guy at the bar drinking until he saw his face and spit it out the beer. "Like everybody else, I've got a dream!" Then everyone started singing each others dreams.

"Thor would like to quit and be a florist."

"Gunther does interior design."

"Ulf is into mime."

"Attila's cupcakes are sublime!"

Then everyone sang. "Bruiser knits! Killer sews! Fang does little puppet shows!" Then the hooked biker sang out louder than anyone and deeper. "And Vladimir collects ceramic unicorns!" Vladimir, the tallest one there, was standing next to Flynn. Then they all looked at him. "What about you?" Flynn noticed the entire bar staring at him.

"I'm sorry. Me?" The big-nosed biker took him off the wall and set him down.

"What's your dream?" Flynn didn't, under any circumstances, want to dance around a room, singing about his dream.

"Whoa! Sorry, boys! I don't sing." That is until all the guns in that room were pointed at him with the safety off. Net thing he knew, he was standing on the bar, dancing, but not in a drunken way. "I have dreams like you, no, really! Just much less touchy-feely! They mainly happen somewhere near an isle. In the loft I rent to own, underground and all alone," He was taken away by some bikers holding him by the arms and legs. "Surrounded by enormous piles of vinyl!" They all cheered and tossed him somewhere. Not that anyone cared where he landed, they were now listening to Rapunzel's soft voice, singing about her dream.

"I've got a dream!"

"She's got a dream!"

"I've got a dream!"

"She's got a dream!"

"I just wanna see the exploding lights gleam!" They all cheered since her dream was much better that Flynn's. They raised their mugs to her as she was standing on a table in the middle of the room. "And with every passing hour, I'm so glad I found my power!" Gothel was now at a window at the restaurant listening in on what was going on. "Like all you lovely folks, I've got a dream!" The lifted Rapunzel off the table and all started to sing again.

"She's got a dream!"

"He's got a dream!"

"They've got a dream!"

"We've got a dream!" Then they all joined in unison. "So our differences ain't really that extreme." They grabbed Flynn and had him stand on the end of some wood. Then a giant biker stomped on the other end sending Flynn flying to the other side of the room landing in a handstand on Vladimir's head. "We're one big team! Call us brutal, sick sadistic, and grotesquely optimistic. 'Cause way down deep inside we've got a dream!"

"I've got a dream!"

"I've got a dream!"

"I've got a dream!"

"I've got a dream!"

"I've got a dream!"

Rapunzel's voice was much more noticeable since she was a girl and had higher pitch. "I've got a dream!" At the time Flynn was being attacked by flames since no one cared about his dream. Then they all sang at the top of their lungs.

"Yes, way down deep inside, I've got a dreeeeeaam! Yeah!" They all cheered as the song ended. Rapunzel was perfectly happy now considering as she wasn't really hungry in the first place but made some new friends.


	6. The Escape

**A/N: I made a mistake. The church burning down is in this chapter! Hope you love it. Please review. And read my other books as well. I'm still waiting for reviews on Corona Rouge and A Nightmare In The Kingdom. I'll probably be taking A Seddie Story off my profile to re-do it. It's on pause to finish this. And I'm using a different laptop right now so maybe this will be a little longer to upload.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

Greno burst open the doors to the Snuggly Duckling. Everyone was still cheering and didn't really pay him much attention. "I found the fuzz!" Then everyone looked at him. Flynn quickly grabbed Rapunzel and ran away from where anyone could see them. The chief pushed Greno out of the way.

"Where's Rider? Where is he?" He was walking near the bar. "I know he's in here. Find him." He pounded on the bar. "Turn the place upside-down if you have to." Behind the bar, Flynn and Rapunzel were hiding underneath in a way where they weren't visible. They were both terrified. Rapunzel more-so than Flynn. Flynn slightly moved upward to see if there was an exit that wasn't surrounded by police. As he looked up, he saw his co-thieves brought into the bar. They started to look in his direction and Flynn quickly ducked under hoping they hadn't noticed.

Something was behind the bar. Flynn didn't want to look to the side afraid of what he might see. But he saw the hooked biker motioning to the other side of the bar. They quickly went along with him as he pulled a lever revealing a tunnel underground.

"This will lead you to an old abandoned church. Go. Live your dream." Flynn looked into the tunnel.

"I will."

The hooked biker looked to Flynn. "Your dream stinks. I was talking to her."

Rapunzel couldn't help but smile at this. Flynn rolled his eyes and walked into the tunnel. "Thanks for everything." Rapunzel said quietly and kissed his cheek. The hooked biker smiled and watched as they were out of sight.

Vladimir was holding up Cupid by the set of wings and holding up the 'wanted' poster. "I believe this is the man you're looking for."

Cupid held up his arms for handcuffs. "You got me!" he said slurring over his words. The chief just looked at them with a look that said '_You're kidding, right?_' A cop came from upstairs.

"Chief! There's no sign of Rider!" The chief was wondering where he must have gone. Then he heard a bark and faced the door. The door swung open and Max came bursting through.

"Maximus!" The chief cried. Max bent down to the ground and continued to sniff out Flynn. He pushed through a bunch of bikers and continued on his way to the bar counter. He pointed his paw at the floor. He barked and the cops were still confused. Max let out a breath of air and pressed down on a lever and the same tunnel that Flynn and Rapunzel went through opened. "A passageway! Come on guys, let's go." Before he left he shouted to an officer. "Conli, make sure those boys don't get away!"

A cop was pointing his handgun at the twins. The twins looked at each other quickly and the Stabbington with the eye patch (We'll call him eye-patch) knocked out the cop by giving him a head butt.

Then, the Stabbington with the sideburns (We'll call him Sideburns) grabbed the key and gave it to his brother to unlock him as he did the same. "Play it safe or go get the crown?" Then they evilly smiled at each other. They followed the police down the tunnel.

Meanwhile, Gothel was standing outside the bar window watching the whole scene. She thought to herself but her thoughts were cut short as Cupid stumbled out of the bar, slurring over the previous song that they sang earlier.

"_I got some dreams. I got some dreams. I_—_"_ Then he saw here and was taken over by her…somewhat beauty. Then again, he was drunk. "Whoa! Somebody get me a glass! Because I just found me a tall drink… of water." He finished.

Gothel played with him a little. "Oh, stop it, you big lug." She let a few laughs and Cupid did too until he saw a gun pointed to his face. Gothel was now glaring at him very serious. "Where does that tunnel let out?"

Cupid still in shock could only say one word.

"Gun!"

**In the tunnel, almost to the old church…**

Flynn found a flashlight and was pointing it down the tunnel, and attempted passing the time. "So, I've got to say, I didn't know you had that in you back there. That was pretty…" He searched for the right word to describe what she had done. "impressive."

"I KNOW!" Rapunzel blurted out. Clearly she wasn't really realizing how childish she acted just now. She cleared her throat and repeated a bit more calm this time. "I know." Flynn flashed her a small…_Is that a smile?_ Rapunzel thought as she moved some hair from her face. She was starting to get comfortable around him. What she didn't know what that he kinda felt comfortable too. But now she wanted to know more about him. "So, Flynn, where are you from?"

Flynn knew where this was going and stopped her. "Whoa, whoa. Sorry, Blondie. I don't do back story. However I'm becoming very interested in yours." Rapunzel was shocked with interest but would only tell him limited information. "Now, I know I'm not supposed to mention the hair—"

"Nope."

"Or the Mom—"

"Uh-uh."

"Frankly I'm too scared to ask about the frog—"

"It's a chameleon."

"Nuance." They were walking up a flight of stairs now. Hopefully, the church wasn't far. "Here's my question. If you wanted to see the fireworks so badly, why haven't you gone before?" He looked back at her. _Didn't see that one coming_ Rapunzel thought.

"Uh…well…" But as she was trying to think up a response, a pebble fell on her head and the ground started to shake. Even though this was California, she was sure this wasn't an earthquake. "Uh, Flynn?" Then they both turned around to see the police running towards them. "Flynn?" She was terrified. The police were still on the move.

"Rider!" the chief yelled. Flynn put his arm around Rapunzels back and pushed her forward, encouraging her to move and not stand there like a deer in the headlights.

"Run. Run!" Flynn yelled. Rapunzel grabbed as much of her hair as possible and ran up the stairs with Flynn. They burst open the door and they were inside the church. It was pretty old and far from being acknowledged. Rapunzel and Flynn looked around the place and saw on the other side of the church two men. The Stabbingtons.

"Who's that?" Rapunzel asked, her eyes wide in fear.

Flynn pointed to them. "They don't like me."

They turned around and the police had caught up.

"Who's that?" Rapunzel asked.

"They don't like me either." Then Max burst out from behind them barking.

"Who's that!" Flynn was getting tired of saying this. He grabbed Rapunzel by her shoulders.

"Let's just assume for the moment that everyone in her doesn't like me." Now they were trying to find a way out. Rapunzel gave Flynn her frying pan to hold onto for a second.

"Here." Flynn wasn't expecting a frying pan to the stomach but tried to shake it off. Rapunzel tossed her hair over something jutting out of the wall. She held it tight and jumped. She found herself on the other side of the church. Flynn turned around after hearing the chief.

"I waited a long time for this." The chief pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Flynn's face. Flynn whimpered but realized what Rapunzel had done earlier with a frying pan that day. He acted quickly and hit him in the head, knocking him out. He then did this to all cops around him. Finally, when all of them were knocked out, he stared at the strange weapon in amazement.

"Whoa, mama! I have got to get me one of these!" The he heard what sounded like a bark, and he turned to see what it was. Max had a handgun in his mouth. He then proceeded to try to shoot Flynn, but Flynn blocked each bullet with the skillet. Rapunzel was watching this entire scene wondering if this is how Flynn goes day-to-day. "You should know that this is the strangest thing I've EVER done!" Flynn yelled. Then max gave up and hit the skillet with the gun, knocking it out of Flynn's hand. The frying pan fell to the bottom story. Flynn turned to face the dog. "How about two out of three?"

Max just pointed the gun at his face again but this time, Flynn couldn't get away and raised his hands in surrender.

"Flynn!" Rapunzel shouted as she threw her hair in Flynn's direction. The hair tied around Flynn's hand and both Flynn and Max stared at his hand for a moment. Flynn caught on as Rapunzel pulled. Flynn saluted to Max and went flying to the other side. Max dropped the handgun and stared at Flynn. Rapunzel noticed something down there that Flynn was approaching. "Flynn! Look out!" The Stabbingtons were there and holding a torch hoping to catch him on fire. Rapunzel pulled her hair higher in hopes that he wouldn't burn. Flynn escaped the fire.

"Ha!" Flynn shouted to the Stabbingtons. "You should see your faces 'cause you look…" But he never finished as he hit a board of wood sticking out of the wall and cutting off his air supply. "Ridiculous." He said, gasping for breath.

Rapunzel heard a sound and the cops were conscious now and set down a board that would bring them to the other side of the church. Max jumped on and was walking towards Rapunzel. She didn't know what to do. But Flynn grabbed her hair and got up onto the board that he hit earlier. "Come on, Blondie!" Rapunzel turned to him. "Jump!" She looked down and realized she would go straight into the hallway.

Rapunzel was running towards the edge as Max was very close. She jumped into the air and Max tried to bite her hair to get her. But he was too late as Rapunzel was swinging into the hallway. Flynn jumped off the board and landed safely on the ground trying to grab Rapunzels hair. The Stabbingtons were chasing them and tossed their torches in the other direction. Not realizing their mistake, there was apparently gas on that side of the church. The church lit up in flames. The flames surrounded the cops and eventually the Stabbingtons. Rapunzel and Flynn were still running for their lives.

The fire was all around them now and quickly, Rapunzel and Flynn were running into a room. A beam that was being held up fell down closing them in. They were safe.

For now.

But soon they looked up. Smoke was filling the room. Quickly they found a basement type room. They both ran inside hoping to get away from the smoke. But the smoke was now coming to the ceiling of the room they were in. Flynn and Rapunzel looked at each other in a state of terror. What was going to happen? Flynn ran back up to the room above holding his breath. He was looking for a way out. Meanwhile, Rapunzel tried to look for a way out in the room below. Flynn came back down for another breath and went back up. Rapunzel started beating the walls but they wouldn't give in. Flynn came back down and tried to beat down the walls with only his strength. However, His hand slid across a sharp piece of wood. He screamed out in pain as his hand was cut open. Rapunzel tried to ignore this as Flynn covered his hand and went back up. Now Rapunzel had to squat down in order to breathe. She was still beating against the walls when Flynn came back down and took a deep breath of air.

"It's no use." He said. She couldn't believe it. "I can't see anything." Although she knew that he would have probably found a way out faster than him, she took a deep breath and made an attempt to go upstairs. Flynn knew for a fact that she would kill herself up there. He quickly inhaled, got up, grabbed her and pulled her back down. "Hey, there's no point." He brushed some hair from her face. "It's pitch black up there." Her eyes widened at the thought. They were going to die.

Rapunzel leaned back against the wall, scared. Pascal sat on her shoulder turning black, blending in with the smoke and the color of the room. Rapunzel put a hand on her forehead and closed her eyes, trying to hold in her tears.

"This is all my fault." But Flynn felt otherwise. _She shouldn't be blaming herself_ he thought. _If anything, this is my fault._ But Flynn would never admit to something like that, even though seeing Rapunzel so sad made him feel down as well. "She was right; I never should have done this." Immediately, Flynn knew she was talking about her mom. "I'm so— I'm so sorry, Flynn."

Then he realized that if they were both going to die, she deserved to know the truth. He took a deep breath and sighed. This was the first time he ever confessed this over a decade.

"Eugene." He said calmly. Rapunzel had to admit, he was pretty calm for someone who was about to die in a smoke-filled room. But what exactly did he just say?

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "What?"

He already said it. Now it wasn't so hard. "My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert." He paused for a second, knowing that she and her little friend were the only ones who would know this bit of information. "Someone might as well know."

She chuckled. Not because it was a funny name but because he trusted her. Because honestly, it wasn't a funny name. Not to her. She might as well open up to something too.

"I have magic hair that glows when I sing." Eugene just looked at her for a second. Her secret was a bit more shocking than his.

"What?" He couldn't believe it. And he wouldn't. She realized what she just said and found another option than dying. She grabbed a hold of her hair and repeated the message.

"I have…magic hair that glows when I sing!" The smoke was very low now. She began to sing. "_Flower, gleam and glow._" Eugene still looked at her thinking she was crazy. But she continued anyway. "_Let your power shine._" She took in a very deep breath as Eugene did the same. They both stood up in the smoke that had completely filled the room.

_This is it_ Eugene thought._ This is the end of Flynn Rider_. But his thoughts were cut short as he saw a bright light that was not heaven or hell. He opened his eyes and there she was, her hair glowing all around the room. His eyes widened and he screamed. Then he covered his mouth trying to get his breath back. Rapunzel opened her eyes as well. Then their eyes both traveled to where the hair was illuminating. The hair was caught in a boarded up door. They looked at each other and both ran to the door. Then he started to pull the boards off the door. Rapunzel helped him out even though she wasn't nearly as strong as him. But finally all the boards were gone and he burst open the door. But as they both ran out, they fell into something. The opposite of fire but just as dangerous if in it too long. They fell into a river.

But they got out quickly and they both were coughing like crazy from the smoke. Finally, they could breathe again and Rapunzel spoke.

"We made it." She said happy news as Eugene said something else.

"Her hair glows."

"We're alive." She fully got out of the river and was getting her hair out of the water. "I'm alive!"

"I didn't see that coming."

"Eugene?" He was now talking to Pascal. He was definitely insane now if he was actually talking to Pascal.

"The hair actually glows."

"Eugene?" He was now yelling.

"Why does her hair glow?" Rapunzel had enough of this.

"Eugene!"

"WHAT?"

_Finally!_ She thought. She had to tell him one more thing.

"It doesn't _just_ glow." Pascal smirked at Eugene, and he noticed this, kinda freaked out that something was gonna happen. He then looked at Rapunzel again.

"Why is he smiling at me?"


	7. In Corona

**A/N: Hey there! So thanks for all the good reviews. I'm gonna split the 'best day of your life' into two parts. And since the bag has Princess Aurora's crown, can you take a guess at where he'll take her? I don't even think I need to give another hint. Besides, I'll name the chapter after the place.**

**BrittneyGlambertAlsoZeldaFan: I really wanna thank you for all your reviews and reading this every time a new chapter is up. You inspire me to keep writing.**

**Chantaya: DO YOUR MATH! IT WAS 23 OUT OF 45! EVEN I UNDERSTOOD THE DIVISION BY TWO PLUS ONE TO MAKE IT UNEVEN!**

**infamous-poohead: (nice name by the way) Thanks. I try to make it as modern as possible.**

**If you do your geography, (which I'm assuming Chantaya doesn't) Corona is a city in southern California so I thought it fit perfectly.**

**I apologize if I'm being a bitch. I'm PMSing right now and had to do 3 exams in one hour. On with the story! Oh, and it'll probably take a little while considering how the letter "D" on my laptop keeps screwing up.**

Gothel was waiting outside a building that was in a small town, holding the gun, ready to attack. This was where Cupid told her the tunnel led to. She was ready to kill Flynn for taking her flower away from her.

Suddenly, she heard coughing and assumed that that was Flynn. She started to walk towards the door from the bush. She held out the gun in front of her with the safety off. She wanted to make sure that it wasn't her daughter that came out first though so she didn't have her finger on the trigger with pressure just yet.

Then the door burst open and the Stabbington brothers stumbled out. Gothels eyes widened, and she ran back behind the bush. The Stabbingtons were coughing from the fire. Finally, Sideburns spoke up.

"I'll kill him. I'll kill that Rider!" Gothel wasn't expecting this response and thought up something to get her way easier. Sideburns continued to speak. "We'll cut him off at Huntington Beach and get back the crown. Come on!" They started to walk away when Gothel came out from hiding.

"Or…" The Stabbingtons started at the voice that heard them talking. They turned around to see Gothel standing there in front of the building. "Perhaps you want to stop acting like wild dogs chasing their tails and think for a moment." She held out the bag that they once had and didn't intend to lose again. They both pulled out their guns at pointed them at her, threatening her. "Oh, please. There's no need for that." She tossed the bag in their direction and they caught it. They were both fighting each other to open the bag.

Once it was open, they pulled out the crown and smiled. Gothel still stood there waiting for attention.

"Well, if that's all you desire, then be on your way. I was going to offer you something worth one _thousand_ crowns. Would have made you rich beyond belief and that wasn't even the best part!" she chuckled, hoping they would hear her out. "Oh well. _Ces't la vie_. Enjoy your _crown_!" She emphasized the last part making it obvious they only had one. They looked down at the crown and looked back at Gothel.

"What's the best part?" Sideburns asked. Gothel turned around to face them once again.

"It comes with revenge on Flynn _Rider_!" She ended in a sing-song voice. The brothers looked at each other with the same agreement an evil looks in their eyes.

**Motel 8, Corona, CA…**

Rapunzel was sitting on the edge of her bed and Eugene was sitting on the edge of his. Her hair was lying all around the room. She was wrapping her hair around Eugene's hand in silence. Until Eugene spoke up.

"So, you're being strangely cryptic as you wrap your magic hair around my injured hand." He looked at her and her hair scratched his hand in an unpleasant way. "Ah!" he groaned. Luckily, it was over since she stopped wrapping his hand.

"Sorry." She said with an apologetic look on her face. She sighed, ready to do this. "Just don't…don't freak out." Eugene looked at his hand then back up at her. She sighed once more and closed her eyes.

"_Flower, gleam and glow. Let your power shine."_ Her hair was illuminating now. As it traveled across the room, Eugene had wide eyes staring at the hair.

"_Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine._" He wasn't going to lie to himself. He was kind of afraid to touch it.

"_Heal what has been hurt, change the fates' design._" Eugene's eyes trailed the golden hair. He looked at Pascal who motioned for him to look at his hand. Eugene did so and the hair was glowing around his hand.

"_Save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine._" Eugene looked up at Rapunzel in fear of what the hell was going on. He didn't feel anything when the hair glowed but it was still just as weird.

"_What once was mine._" She finished the song and looked up at Eugene. Eugene lifted his hand and unwrapped the hair from his hand. He wasn't prepared for what he saw. His hand was fine. It wasn't cut open. He showed Rapunzel and whimpered. He stared at it, his eyes widening by the second. He found it harder to breathe without gasping each time. Finally, his scream was at the entrance of mouth. But before he could scream, Rapunzel interrupted.

"Please, don't freak out!" She said in about a second. Eugene sat there with his mouth wide open ready to scream but he was holding it in. He responded to her saying it all as if it were one word.

"I'm-not-freaking-out. Are-you-freaking-out? No-I'm-just-very-interested-in-your-hair-and-the-magical-qualities-that-it-posesses. How-long-has-it-been-doing-that-exactly?" Now he was holding his arms and rocking back and forth staring at her with a strained smile.

"Uh," She managed to understand his last question. "Forever, I guess." Then she dropped the smile. "Mom says when I was a baby, people tried to cut it. They wanted to take it for themselves." She pulled back her hair to reveal a small brown lock underneath all her hair. "But, once it's cut, it turns brown and loses its power." Eugene was looking at the small hair when Rapunzel spoke again. He actually wanted to know about her. "A gift like that," She stroked her hair. "It has to be protected." She let go of her hair and looked at Eugene. "That's why Mom never let me…" Then she realized that she was holding herself back and sighed. "That's why," she looked away. "I never left and…" She let out a breath. Eugene finished her sentence.

"You never left that apartment." She looked at him with sadness in her eyes. "And you're still gonna go back?"

But Rapunzel didn't want to go back. She had freedom for a while and loved it. She never wanted her freedom to end.

"No!" She paused, thinking about her Mom. "Yes." Then she put her head in her hands. "It's complicated." Pascal leaned on her foot and had sadness in his expression, looking up at Rapunzel on the bed. Eugene looked at her with hurt. He somehow wanted to make her feel better. _Strange_ he thought. _I never want to make anyone feel better_. Then Rapunzel looked at him from her hands. She lifted her hands from her face, took a deep breath and smiled.

"So," She wanted to hear his story now that she let her walls down. "Eugene Fitzherbert, huh?"

"Ah, yeah, well," He didn't really want to tell his story. "I'll spare you the sob story of poor orphan Eugene Fitzherbert. It's a little bit of a…well, it's a little bit of a downer." Even though he said he wouldn't tell his story, Rapunzel sat closer to him and put her fists of the sides of her face as if saying 'tell me'. And somehow, looking into those big green eyes, he chuckled and decided to tell her.

"There was this book. A book I used to read every night to all the younger kids. _The Tales Of Flynnagin Rider._ Swashbuckling rouge. Richest man alive." He leaned over to her and said a bit quieter. "Not bad with the ladies, either. Not that he'd ever brag about it of course." Rapunzel giggled and asked him another question.

"Was he a thief too?" Eugene wasn't expecting this question. Apparently, he wasn't exactly the same person.

"Uh, well, no." He thought about what the real Flynn could do though. "Actually, he had enough money to do anything that he wanted to do. He could go anywhere that he wanted to go." Then his moo change a bit. "And— And for a kid with nothing, I don't know, I— Just seemed like the better option."

"Hmm." Eugene looked at Rapunzel again.

"You can't tell anyone about this, okay? It could ruin my whole reputation." Then Rapunzel made a fake comment.

"Ah, we wouldn't want that." She said, sarcastically.

"Well, a fake reputation is all a man has." Rapunzel started laughing at what he said. Soon, Eugene laughed too. He was still looking at Rapunzel when she looked up at him. She smiled and he could almost see emotion in those eyes. He was staring at her the exact same way. She thought she saw emotion in his eyes as well. But Eugene broke eye contact first and cleared his throat. He knew that being a thief, he couldn't get close to anyone. He stood up and thought of an excuse to leave.

"Well, I should, uh… I—I should—I should get that movie we were talking about watching." He started to walk towards the door knowing that there was a redbox outside the motel. But before he got out, Rapunzel had to tell him one more thing.

"Hey." Rapunzel started. Eugene turned around, not wanting to miss anything she said. "For the record, I like Eugene Fitzherbert MUCH better than Flynn Rider." Eugene was touched at her words. No one ever cared about him before he changed his name. But he made up his mind that her opinion was the one that mattered.

"Well," He held his now uninjured hand. "Then you'd be the first. But thank you." With that, he turned around and headed downstairs. Rapunzel smiled to herself lost in her thoughts of her newfound crush. She didn't even notice the window open. Until she heard a voice that scared her. A voice which she didn't want to hear at the moment.

"Well!" Gothel said loud enough to bring her out of her thoughts. Rapunzels eyes widened and her smile was gone. Not that she didn't love her Mom. She just wasn't expecting it. And she feared the consequences. "I thought he'd never leave." Rapunzel finally turned her head away from the door and towards the window to see a quite familiar face.

"Mom?" she whispered. Gothel removed her hoodie to reveal her hair starting to have grey streaks.

"Hello, dear." Gothel walked in to the room. She was walking to Rapunzel as she stood up stammering.

"But I— I don't— How did you find me?" She finally asked a full question. Gothel was walking towards her with a smile and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. Rapunzel wasn't hugging her back. She wanted her answer.

"Oh, it was easy really. I just listened for the sound of complete and utter betrayal and followed that." Rapunzel sighed knowing her adventure was coming to a close. And that she was in deep shit.

"Mom—"

"We're going home, Rapunzel." Gothel grabbed her daughter's arm and led her to the window in which she came in. "Now."

Rapunzel pulled against her Mom and this caused Gothel to stop walking. Instead, Rapunzel grabbed her.

"You don't understand. I've been on this incredible journey and I've seen and learned so much. I—I even met someone." Rapunzel smiled as her thoughts went back to Eugene. Gothel put on her sarcastic voice.

"Yes, the wanted thief. I'm so proud!" Then she dropped her voice tone and smile. "Come on, Rapunzel." She said as she pulled again. But Rapunzel rebelled again.

"Mom, wait!" Gothel stood there not looking back but listening. "I think…" Rapunzel thought about Eugene again and how he looked at her. "I think he likes me." She said as she smiled. But her smile left after what her Mom said next.

"Likes you? Please, Rapunzel, that's demented!" Gothel turned to face her daughter.

"But, Mom, I—"

"This is why you never should have left. Dear this little romance that you've tried to make just proves you're too naive to be here. Why would he like you? Come on, now, really?" She lifted her daughter's hair and put it in her face. "Look at you! You think that he's impressed?" Rapunzel started to glare at her. What criticizing something that mothers are made to do? "Don't be a dummy. Remember, darling. Mother—"

"No!" Rapunzel shouted.

"No?" Then Gothel realized that her daughter was becoming the rebellious type. "Oh. I see how it is." She walked towards her daughter. "So, Rapunzel knows best. Oh, you're so mature and grown up now. If you're so sure…" she held out the bag with the crown and nail. "Give him this!" Rapunzel's eyes widened.

"How did you—"

Gothel pulled out the crown. "This is why he's here! Don't let him deceive you! Give it to him, you'll see!" She threw the crown at Rapunzel while she stared at it and faced her Mom again.

"I will give it to him!" Gothel continue to warn her.

"Trust me, my dear!" She snapped her fingers. "That how fast he'll leave you. I won't say 'I told you so'!" She wrapped the bag around her daughter. Rapunzel continued to stare at the crown. "Now Rapunzel knows best! So if he's such a dreamboat, go ahead and put him to the test!" Gothel was now at the window.

"Mom, wait!" But Gothel said a few last words that happened to rhyme.

"If he's lying, don't come crying!" Then she summarized the same way last time. "Mother knows best!" With that, she disappeared out the window. Rapunzel stood there looking at the crown when she heard a voice outside the door.

"So, hey, can I ask you something?" She quickly stashed the bag under her bed. Eugene came in with 'Enchanted'. "Is there any chance that I'm gonna get super strength in my hand? Because, I'm not gonna lie, that would be amazing." Then he looked at Rapunzel who was still facing away. "Hey, you alright?" Rapunzel turned to face him.

"Oh! Sorry, yes. Just um…lost in thought, I guess." Eugene shrugged it off. He went to the T.V., opened the case, and put the movie in.

"I mean because here's the thing. Superhuman good looks, I've always had them. Born with it. But superhuman strength. Can you imagine the possibilities? Just think, a real-life Spiderman!" Outside the motel room, Gothel was waiting for the plan to go into action with the Stabbingtons.

The Stabbingtons had enough of waiting and started to go into the room. Gothel held up a hand to stop them.

"Patience, guys. All good things come to those who wait."


	8. Disneyland

**A/N: Hey, guys! Having fun waiting for this chapter? I certainly took a while, didn't I? Just to be crucial. Naw, I'm just kidding. My laptop is bending in weird and twisted ways and one of the hinges is broken so I'm using my school laptop. Anyslut, (BTW, that's a RayWilliamJohnson reference. If you haven't heard of him, look him up! He's the best of comedy I've ever seen! But not on fanfiction. On YouTube, Google or Facebook!) Here's the chapter you've all waited so patiently for. Oh, and you can guess why the chapter is named Disneyland. And I'm changing "To the boats!" to "To the both!" It wouldn't really make sense in Disneyland. Unless there was a family wanting to go on Davy Crockett.**

**I can't wait till I write the next chapter. They're gonna see the Huntington Beach fireworks next chapter. And if you haven't seen them, please, look them up. They're incredible.**

**But don't skip the beginning of the chapter! It will finally reveal Eugene's outfit. I actually have a picture of modern Tangled characters outfits I just never put them on my DeviantArt thing-a-ma-bobber. That's a term I use often. And maybe if Tyler (one of my buddies) is reading this as well as many others, he'll know that I do use that word often.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nada. Zilch. NOTHING!**

That night, they watched Enchanted and both sat on the little couch in front of the T.V. Rapunzel fell asleep before the movie was over and leaned on Eugene. He wasn't really a fan of children's movies. He would have rather rented Friday the 13th or a Nightmare on Elm Street. Or something that had Adam Sandler. So he wasn't really paying attention to the movie. He just sat there thinking of what they could do tomorrow instead of wait all day on the beach.

Then he got an idea. But Rapunzel leaning on him brought him out of his thoughts. Granted he really wanted her to stay there, but he told himself that he shouldn't be getting close to her. He turned off the T.V. and woke up Rapunzel long enough to get her to her bed. Then, Eugene put his plan into action. He wanted to be as quiet as possible. And as he called Huntington Beach services, Rapunzel was already fast asleep. While he was on the phone, he reserved a little boat for them during the fireworks. Then he got out of the Motel and got into an apple store. He went to a Disney website and got 2 tickets to Disneyland. He was going to give her the best day of her life. No matter how close they were getting.

The next morning, they were both still asleep. But after what happened yesterday, can you blame them for being exhausted? They didn't bring anything with them, so they slept in their regular clothes from yesterday. Rapunzel was still in her purple T-shirt, jean skirt and black leggings, wrapped around in her hair as a blanket. And Eugene was in his white sleeve shirt, black Harley-Davidson vest, brown skinny jeans, and black and white checkered Vans. Gothel left the window open last night, so something got in. Or should I say someone. It walked over to Eugene's bed and stood right on top looking at him.

Something hit Eugene's face and he mumbled a little and went back into dreamland. But the same water hit his face again. He woke up enough to see what it was. After he saw the thing standing over him, he knew it was dog slobber. Max was standing on the bed, glaring at Eugene. Eugene was not affected by this even though he knew that police dogs were trained to bite until death.

"Well, I hope you're here to apologize." But that was NOT what Max had in mind.

Rapunzel was sleeping peacefully. She was dreaming about the fireworks. Until she heard an ear-piercing scream. She immediately got up and turned around to face Eugene's bed only to find that Eugene was being dragged by the leg by a dog. All the while, he was screaming for the dog to stop.

"No! No! No! Put me down! Stop it!" He did not just pay 200 dollars last night for nothing. He had to get away from this dog. Luckily, Rapunzel came to the rescue right before he was out the window and grabbed his arms. Eugene did the same and held her arms tightly hoping that Rapunzel would be stronger than the dog. "Let me go!" he screamed once again at the dog. Rapunzel was glaring at the dog.

"Give me him!" Rapunzel shouted. The dog merely shook his head and barked while Eugene's leg was still in his mouth. Suddenly they both pulled hard and Eugene's shoe flew off and the dog fell back. Rapunzel fell back and so did Eugene in Rapunzel's direction. Max looked at the shoe in his mouth, growled, got back up and charged at Eugene. Rapunzel got back up and blocked Max from getting to him.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Easy, boy. Easy! Settle down!" This entire time Rapunzel kept blocking Max in every direction. "Whoa! Whoa! Easy, boy!" Finally, the dog calmed down and looked at Rapunzel. "Easy. That's it!" Then max's eyes trailed upward and saw the chameleon on her head agreeing with her and motioning for him to calm down. Then Rapunzel spoke again.

"Now sit." Max squatted down and not necessarily sat. "Sit!" she said more firmly. Max gave up and sat down with the shoe still in his mouth.

"What?" Eugene asked not knowing why the dog was actually listening to Rapunzel with respect.

"Now drop the shoe." Rapunzel said pointing to the floor. Max looked up to him, tightening his bite on the shoe. "Drop it." Rapunzel said once again, pointed to the ground. It took a moment but Max eventually dropped the shoe, covered in dog slobber. "Aw. You're such a good boy!" Rapunzel said affectionately making the dog wag his tail. She started to pet him. "Yes, you are!" Then she put on a pouty face and squatted down next to the dog. "You all tired from chasing this bad man all over the place?" Max whimpered.

"Excuse me?" Eugene said while grabbing his shoe, going to the bathroom and using a towel to dry the shoe. But Rapunzel continued.

"Nobody appreciates you, do they?" Rapunzel hugged the dog. Max simply put on a sad face. "Do they?" Rapunzel repeated. Then Max let out a sigh of some sort and snuggled closer.

"Oh, come on!" Eugene was out of the bathroom, and he had his shoe back on. "He's a bad dog!" But Rapunzel faced him, still petting Max's head.

"Oh, he's nothing but a big sweetheart." Max barked playfully at Rapunzel. Rapunzel then scratched his neck getting him to look up. "Isn't that right?" She looked at the collar and read his name. "Maximus?" The dog barked again enjoying Rapunzel's affection.

"You've got to be kidding me." Eugene stated. Max quit the happiness and glared at Eugene. Rapunzel stopped petting him and had a plan in mind now that he warmed up to her.

"Look, today is kind of the biggest day of my life." She looked at him for a second then reached over to Eugene and walked him over to Max. "And the thing is, I need you NOT to get him arrested." But Max continued to glare at Eugene. Eugene was sure though that Rapunzel would talk him into letting him off the hook. "Just for 24 hours and then you can chase each other to your hearts content, okay?" Eugene took a deep breath and held out his hand to make a deal with the idiotic dog. Max simply looked at his hand and immediately turned away. "And it's also my birthday, just so you know." Rapunzel said once more trying to get the dog to give in. And soon, Max did. He faced Eugene and held out his paw to shake. They shook on it and Rapunzel walked past them and walked out the door to the motel room.

Eugene and Max stood there staring at the girl for different reasons. Eugene was wondering how the hell she got him into an agreement like that. Max was hoping she was out of sight to do one more thing. He lifted his paw and punched Eugene in the stomach making him fall to the ground. Max smiled and they were on their way. First, Eugene stole a car and checked the mileage. There was enough to get them to Anaheim. Max got in the backseat, Rapunzel got in the passenger seat, and Eugene drove on the freeway for a while until after about an hour, he came up on Disney Way.

"So," Rapunzel started. "Where are we going?" Eugene glanced at her as she was looking at him. He looked back forward and knew he was going the right way. He saw the Tower of Terror.

"Well, since you go home tomorrow, I thought I'd give you a great day at the happiest place on earth." He pointed to the sign. Rapunzel looked at it and gasped.

"Disneyland?" She tried with all her might to restrain herself from hugging him right away.

"Mmhmm." Eugene was smiling because Rapunzel was so excited. He wanted to make her happy every moment of that day and every second memorable. He covered the dog in the back with a jacket that was in the car. They got past the parking and once Rapunzel got out of the car, she ran to the other side and hugged him.

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" She was grinning widely and they got onto the tram headed towards the park. Eugene showed them the passes and they got inside. Luckily, no one recognized him. As they walked into the park, Rapunzel stared down Main Street U.S.A., ready to have the best day ever. She took one step forward and the omnibus drove by almost hitting her. She jumped back and tried to walk again and suddenly she bumped into someone.

"Whoops! Sorry." As she tried to walk once more, her hair was stepped on and she got pulled back. "Ow! Ow." Eugene took the end of it and gathered as much as he could and so did Rapunzel. The dog was following behind (he got in because they noticed his badge.) and caught up with them. Eugene thought hard of what they were gonna do with all this hair. They couldn't carry it all day. Until he noticed 4 little girls on the bench by the statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, braiding each other's hair.

Eugene whistled and they all looked up. Eugene lifted the hair looking at the little girls to see if they would do it. All the girls gasped at the same time and ran over. They sat Rapunzel down and braided her hair for about 30 minutes. Eugene got bored and wondered if it was worth it. Then he looked at her and realized it was worth it. Now that the hair was out of the way, they could get around a lot easier. And now she had flowers in her hair which made Eugene love her more. (Whoa! Only one day and already in love!) He was gazing at her and Max walked over and looked at Eugene wiggling his eyebrows. Eugene understood what the dog was getting at and pushed him away. Max started laughing.

"So, now what?" Rapunzel walked over to Eugene. Eugene knew that the last time he was here for fun, he went straight to Space Mountain. But he wasn't sure yet if she liked the big rides. So he decided on something that was for kids and a bit big of a ride.

"How about Splash Mountain?"

"Is that the water ride?" Rapunzel asked.

"Well, if you don't wanna go on it, then we can pick something else…" But Rapunzel wanted to do everything. She just wanted to know which ride it was. She would love to go on anything.

"No! No, I was just asking which one it was. I'd love to go on anything!" Eugene smiled and they walked across the park to Critter Country and stood in line for Splash Mountain. Rapunzel read the story on the walls at the same time. She liked the story of the critters and the humans. Then she came across a sign.

"'Warning: 50 foot plunge. You will get wet!' 50 feet? That's huge! Now I really wanna go on it!" Then Eugene realized that she was one for the bigger rides. They rode it and Rapunzel asked if they could go again. But Eugene told her she only had one day and they made their way to Space Mountain.

"Eugene?"

"Yeah, Blondie?"

"I'm…kinda scared."

"Why?"

Rapunzel thought that this ride would be a bit more intense than the other ride. "I don't know. It's my first roller coaster. Is it scary?" The only ride that was scary in the park was Haunted Mansion. Then again, he was 6. That was 2 decades ago.

"Don't worry, Rapunzel. It'll be just as fun as Splash Mountain. Maybe even more." Eugene knew that this was his favorite ride. But he also knew that this was the most intense ride in the park. Rapunzel smiled and they went on. Rapunzel was very excited and scared that her teeth were chattering. But after the ride was over, Eugene regretted going on the ride. He loved it and all but that bright light at the end when they took their picture felt blinding. Rapunzel felt it too but wanted to go on it again. But Eugene told her she only had one day and there was a lot to do.

They went on most of the big rides before lunch. Indiana Jones, Matterhorn, and Thunder Mountain. For lunch, they ate at the Blue Bayou. Eugene got them special seats so they could see the pirates ride from where they sat. Rapunzel barely ate and begged Eugene to go on that ride next. Before he could finish saying sure, Rapunzel already grabbed him and pulled him in line, leaving a little bit of their food behind. Rapunzel sang along with the ride and a bit after it was over.

"Yo-ho, Yo-ho, a pirates life for me!" she sang this for about 15 minutes as they were in line for the Haunted Mansion. Rapunzel was a little freaked out when the guy was hanging from the ceiling. Eugene told her that it was all fantasy and there's nothing to be afraid of. He also wanted to tell her that he was there but he decided not to. As the ride was nearing the end, the ride told them a ghost will follow you home. Rapunzel was a little freaked out again. Eugene told her to just look at the mirror and pick the ghosts nose. He told her that was the best part. So they did it and were laughing the whole time.

It was time for them to go to the next park and ride some of those rides. It was now 1:30. Eugene practically shoved her into line for Tower of Terror. Rapunzel was scared that this would be creepier than the Haunted Mansion. But Eugene told the ride only went up and down. He didn't say that it drops you unexpectedly, but he figured that she would run out of the line if he told her that.

They were watching the introductory video in the library and at the end of the video, the man from the video said, "Because in tonights episode, you are the star. And this elevator travels directly to…" but Eugene leaned into Rapunzel ear and whispered, "The Twilight Zone." Rapunzel almost screamed. She put a hand over her mouth and faced Eugene.

"God! Don't scare me like that!" The whole time she was smiling as she spoke.

"You should have seen your face!" Eugene said while laughing. As they went on the ride, the elevator moved back and Rapunzel clutched on Eugene's arm. They went up and down 4 times and Rapunzel screamed her head off each time they dropped. When it was over, Rapunzel said she had a lot of fun. They were walking past a bunch of people looking at their photos.

"Can we see ours?" Rapunzel asked. But Eugene got a glimpse of it. Rapunzel was wide-eyed with fear and Eugene was gazing at her, smiling with love and affection.

"We don't have time, Blondie. Let's go!" He pulled her arm and they moved on to the next rides. They rode California Screamin', Grizzly River Run, and Soarin'. Rapunzel saw ropes for a line.

"What's this ride?" she asked. Eugene saw where it led to. World of Color.

"It's not a ride, Blondie, it's a show. A water show." Rapunzel loved this idea.

"Can we see it?"

"Rapunzel, it shows the same time as the fireworks. We don't want you to miss the fireworks." Rapunzel dropped her smile. "But there's two showings." Rapunzel looked up at him again. "Maybe if we get here fast enough after the fireworks, we can see the last showing." Rapunzel beamed up at him.

"So, what time is it?" Eugene didn't even think about the time. So he sent her to go ask a cast member. He obviously didn't want to ask the cast member himself. He was afraid he'd get caught. She came back and told him it was 4:00. He figured they should have another 2 hours.

"Well, how about dinner? We'll go back to Disneyland and you pick a land." They both went back into Disneyland and she chose Main Street U.S.A. So he found something where he could make a move. Plaza Inn. That place was pretty sophisticated. But he managed to go through the whole meal without trying anything on her. He knew that she preferred Eugene to Flynn. Flynn was the flirtatious one. Eugene was quiet and shy. So he didn't really know what to do during the meal. After they were done, they made another stop by New Orleans Square. They saw a quartet and Rapunzel knew the song. She began to sing and dance. She brought a little boy into dancing with her. Then she brought in the adults too. Eventually, she got Eugene in too.

They were doing a kick line while singing "well you could've been anything that you wanted to and I could tell the way you do the things you do!" They began dancing pretty fast and Rapunzel was twirling around. Finally the song stopped and the dance. Eugene was holding her hand in his and had his arm around her waist. Rapunzel loved being there. She was smiling up at him. Eugene had never felt better. He wanted to stand there forever just to hold her so close.

But, one of the quartet members spoke up. "To the both! Give them a round of applause!" Everyone was clapping and Eugene and Rapunzel looked away from each other then looked back and realized just how close they were and let go of the other. They were both blushing from how close they were.

"Eugene, can we go on Splash Mountain again?" Rapunzel asked. They were right next to Critter Country. She could hear the screams from the ride and wanted to go on it again.

"Actually, Rapunzel, we better get going if we're gonna see the fireworks." Rapunzel almost screamed with delight and they headed out of the park. Rapunzel had a skip in her step and Eugene couldn't help but smile at her. They headed toward the car and onto the freeway.


	9. Inner Fireworks

**A/N: This is the most reviews I've ever gotten. I LOVE IT! And I also like what I'm doing with this story. Well, as you know, this will be the 'I See the Light' scene. There will be singing in this. I wasn't really sure how to put it in word form. And, I had to do it, there will also be a little kissing.**

**BritneyGlambertAlsoZeldaFan: I'm RayBurciago on DeviantArt. I only have 2 pictures up though. Oh, and did I tell you that Corona California is boring? I just used it for its name in relation to Tangled. There really is nothing fun there.**

**BroadwayFanGirl91: I've actually read some of your stories. Of the ones I read, nice job!**

**RapunzelFitzherbert: If you thought that chapter was cute, read this one!**

**Disclaimer: You may have noticed a lot of stuff in the first few paragraphs of the last chapter. Let me sum it all up. NOTHING IS MINE! I don't own Enchanted, A Nightmare on Elm Street, (props to Wes Craven though. ;) ) Friday the 13th, Adam Sandler, Apple, Disneyland, and I certainly do NOT OWN TANGLED!**

As they drove down the highway, Rapunzel was staring out her window as they passed a few cool places. Then as they were passing through La Mirada, they passed a lot of restaurants. Rapunzel turned to Eugene.

"Eugene?" Eugene payed attention to the road and tried to have a conversation at the same time. He knew how to drive a bike but it's been a while since he drove an actual car.

"You know, you can call me Flynn if you want."

"I prefer Eugene."

"Okay. I won't force you to call me that."

"Eugene?"

"Yeah, Blondie?"

"Remember lunch at the Blue Bayou?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, you know how I didn't eat much? I was just staring at the pirates ride?"

"Yeah." He turned to face her. "You're still hungry, aren't you?" Rapunzel just nodded. They were really close to the beach now. The fireworks didn't start for 2 more hours. "We'll knock over a hot dog stand when we get there which won't be long."

"Okay, I realize you're a thief, but do you really have to knock over an entire stand?" Eugene laughed.

"That means we'll buy a hot dog. Not knock it over." He was still chuckling every now and then at that.

"Oh." was all Rapunzel said. "How much longer? We've been driving for like an hour." Then as she said that, he was driving down Main Street in Huntington Beach.

"We're here." He said. Rapunzel plastered her face to the window to see all the shops and the street fair. It was all really cool to see. Finally, after 10 minutes, Eugene found a parking spot. Rapunzel jumped out of the car and opened the back door for Max. He jumped out and walked beside the two. Pascal was taking a nap on her shoulder. He was tired from the day at Disneyland.

"So, when do they go up?" Eugene knew she was talking about the fireworks.

"In like an hour and a half. How 'bout we take a walk?" They walked over to the end of the pier where there were flowers and candles.

"What's this?" she asked. Eugene saw what she was pointing at.

"Oh, that's for the lost daughter. They do fireworks for 2 reasons: 4th of July and the lost daughter's birthday."

"What happened?"

"Eh, I think some chick kidnapped her and she hasn't been seen since. The Governor and his wife are still going through mourning even though they never lost hope. They send up the fireworks in honor of their daughter every year."

She walked towards the display and looked at the pictures of the daughter. She had long blonde hair. Not nearly as much as she did. She also had green eyes. Just like Rapunzel's. Rapunzel found this interesting.

"That sucks. I feel sad now. The poor Governor." She lost her smile. Eugene turned to her and lifted her chin.

"Hey, there's nothing to be upset about. If it doesn't have anything to do with you, you shouldn't be down. It's your birthday." Then he got a funny idea. "_Don't worry. Be happy!_" She started laughing. "So, we done talking about the lost daughter?"

"Yep. I'm still hungry." So they walked over to a hot dog stand. Rapunzel just asked for ketchup and mustard. Eugene had everything on his. They ate and walked down Main Street taking a look at all the stuff. They even passed somebody with snakes. Being the brave, courageous girl that she is, Rapunzel has a snake across her shoulders. It freaked out Eugene though. He hated snakes after the big guys at the group home made him watch Anaconda. So he occupied himself with one of those 'how strong are you' things. He hit it and it hit the top. A bunch of girls let out squeals and not one of them was Rapunzel. He looked past the girls and saw Rapunzel not only had a snake on her shoulders but now she was holding a Tarantula. He was okay with spiders. Clearly, this girl wasn't one for the adorable puppies and kittens. No, she was for snakes, spiders and everything in between. Eugene wouldn't be surprised if she would pet a komodo dragon. After he hit the top he was disappointed that nothing is gonna get this girl attracted to him. Maybe if he told her…No. He swore he would never say that to anyone. Ever. But this girl might just be an exception. I mean, he was going to do everything in his power to keep her away from her apartment tomorrow. He supposed that if that wasn't love, he wouldn't know what was.

Eventually, Eugene caved and walked over to Rapunzel pulling her away from those animals. She would spend all night with those if he didn't. It was 8:30 now. They had about a half an hour left. Rapunzel pulled him into a shop that was sort of Eugene's style. It was a skater shop. Rapunzel liked all the stuff in there. She told him how her mom never got her clothes like this. So with a bit more money, Eugene got her a hoodie that said Huntington Beach. The fireworks were gonna start soon. Eugene covered her eyes and they got on the boat. It was easy because there weren't waves shockingly. He brought them out to a clearing and it was dark as the lights on the pier went off. Rapunzel was told to open her eyes and she gasped at the sight. All the fireworks were about to go off in 5 minutes.

They were both looking up at the pier. Then with all of it right there, her dream about to come true, she sighed. Eugene noticed right away and looked at her, concerned. "You okay?" But Rapunzel wasn't okay. She was far from okay.

"I'm terrified." Now he was confused. Wasn't this what she wanted? Or did she want to go back to World of Color? Naw, she was ecstatic that they were seeing the fireworks.

"Why?" he simply asked. Rapunzel decided to tell him.

"I've been looking out a window for 18 years, dreaming of what it might feel like when those lights burst into the night sky. What if it's not everything that I dreamed it would be?" Ah, so that's what she was worried about. He saw the expression on her face and he couldn't bear to let her face stay like that. He knew that fireworks were pretty cool. So he responded.

"It will be." Rapunzel smiled and Eugene felt butterflies in his stomach. But he kept his composure. But Rapunzel had to ask him another thing. She had a straight face and wasn't smiling anymore.

"And what if it is? What do I do then?" Eugene continued to smile.

"Well, that's the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream." He looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile. She smiled too.

"Hmm." She looked at the pier and so did Eugene even though he never wanted to stop looking at her. She was unquestionably the most beautiful woman he ever laid eyes on.

**At the end of the pier near Ruby's…**

The governor and his wife were getting ready for the fireworks and his wife was currently fixing his tie. She looked up at him. He wasn't looking back. He was doing everything not to cry. Then again, it's hard not to. He hasn't seen his daughter in 18 years. His wife had a sympathetic look and stroked his cheek with one hand. He didn't hold back. He let a small tear fall down his cheek. She looked up to him with sympathy and wiped away the tear. Then, they walked slowly towards the first firework that they light themselves.

**Back on the boat in the water…**

Some of the flowers that the girls put in her hair had fallen out. Eugene grabbed a few of them, not crushing them and holding them out to Rapunzel. Rapunzel simple took one at a time and placed each in the water. The water was still. The flowers didn't really flow to another place.

But Rapunzel heard something go off. She looked up and saw a small light going into the air. She wondered what it was. Then, it faded. And exploded. Rapunzel was wide-eyed and jumped to the end of the boat. This caused Eugene to fall almost out of the boat. But Rapunzel didn't care. All she cared about was seeing those as best she could.

_All those days watching from the windows._

_All those years outside looking in._

_All that time never even knowing just how blind I've been._

Rapunzel was smiling as a few more fireworks went off.

_Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight._

_Now I'm here, suddenly I see._

_Standing here, it's oh, so clear, I'm where I'm meant to be._

It was as thought nothing else in the world mattered. She didn't think about her Mom, or Pascal, or Disneyland. She watched in content as more fireworks burst into the sky, creating an entire show of color.

_And at last I see the light._

_And it's like the fog has lifted._

_And at last I see the light._

_And it's like the sky is new._

Pascal was enjoying the fireworks just as much. Rapunzel was very happy. Only something was missing and she couldn't figure out what. But then she turned around.

_And it's warm and real and bright._

_And the world has somehow shifted._

_All at once everything looks different._

_Now that I see you._

As she turned, she saw Eugene staring at her and not the fireworks. That was when she really started to think he liked her. She sat next to him in the small bat and looked up to him. She slightly chuckled and searched for something behind her. "I have something for you." She pulled out the bag complete with nail and crown. She also left her mouse-ears hat in there but she'd take it out later. When he returned her home.

However, Eugene stared at the bag that he made such a fuss over. He realized that he didn't want it. He didn't want anything to do with it if it meant separating from Rapunzel. And now he knew that nothing would tear him away from her. Then he looked back up to her as she spoke again.

"I should have given it to you before but I was just scared. And the thing is…I'm not scared anymore. Know what I mean?" Eugene smiled and lifted his hand to the top of the back. Rapunzel thought he was going to take it and be out of her life forever. But he shocked her by saying this.

"I'm starting to." She smiled brilliantly and put it next to her seat and continued to watch the fireworks. Eugene watched them as well.

_All those days chasing down a daydream._

_All those years living in a blur._

_All that time never truly seeing things the way they were._

He stared up at the fireworks then stopped for a while. One firework was falling around them and wouldn't go away. It's as if they were in a secluded place with a golden curtain around them. Eugene was back to staring at Rapunzel.

_Now she's here shining in the starlight._

_Now she's here suddenly I know._

_If she's here it's crystal clear,_

_I'm where I'm meant to go._

Rapunzel saw all the fireworks and once the firework that surrounded them went away, Eugene gave her a surprise. He bought a firework for them to light. Rapunzel looked back at Eugene. She lit it and it went up into the sky. She was curious as to what color or shape it would be. As it burst, it was pink. She loved the shape. It was a heart. As it burst in the sky, Eugene took her hand in his. She looked back at him again. She smiled. They both sang.

_And at last I see the light_

_And it's like the fog has lifted_

_And at last I see the light_

_And it's like the sky is new._

Eugene saw the fireworks in her eyes, but he really didn't care about the fireworks. All that mattered was that she was here and he was holding her hand. He didn't know how exactly he got the courage, but it was amazing and he was glad he did it.

_And it's warm and real and bright_

_And the world has somehow shifted._

_All at once, everything is different,_

_Now that I see you._

Rapunzel couldn't have felt better. She loved holding his hand. It was warm and she never wanted to let go. There was a part of her that didn't want to go back to the apartment. She wanted to stay with him. Forever. Eugene started to pull her closer, bringing her hand closer to him. It was about time she knew how he felt.

_Now that I see you._

Eugene stared at her, and for once, Rapunzel did the same. He brought his hand to her face to brush her hair behind her ear. They both smiled and that was enough for Eugene to know that she felt the same. He cupped the back of her hand and brought her face closer to his. Even though he loved looking at her, it was time for him to close his eyes, as Rapunzel already did. Rapunzel really wanted to kiss him. More than anything. Eugene finally closed the distance between them as their lips met.

Rapunzel loved this feeling. So did Eugene. She could swear she felt sparks. Maybe he felt the same? But Eugene didn't feel sparks. He felt fireworks go off. He never wanted this moment to end. And he decided to make it last. The people on the beach were starting to leave. He decided that he could wait for them to fully leave and they could go straight back to Disneyland for World of Color like she wanted to see.

But now he didn't even want to end the kiss to give her what she wanted. And now he knew that she definitely felt the same. Her hand was in his hair and deepening the kiss. Eugene just wanted to stay there all night if it meant kissing her forever. But finally the two needed to separate for air. They had their foreheads against each other. Eugene was the first to open his eyes. He wanted to look at Rapunzel's eyes again and tell her how much he loved her. He would also tell her to forget the apartment and leave with him. And they could live happily ever after.

But we all know, Eugene above all, that happy ending don't just come right away like that. He should have known something would ruin this moment. It's as if he thinks something's out there that says "oh, Eugene's about to be happy! Better get him!" Before Rapunzel opened her eyes, he looked to the shore and he saw the two people that he could just kill right now.


	10. Betrayed

**A/N: Oh my god! Finally! 30 reviews! I never expected to have this many reviews! I feel so loved! Anyway, thanks for the reviews. A LOT! They keep me going. Which is probably why I haven't updated Corona Rouge. Everyone hates it! I'm gonna go hide in a corner and never update any of my stories ever again!**

**JK! Since you guys love it, I'll always be updating. New review means new chapter!**

**Oh! And before I forget, I'll be doing another story soon. It's gonna be a series of one-shots. Tangled characters doing scenes from other movies. The first chapter will be from a movie you guys have probably never heard of. It's cheesy and it's called the Pirate Movie. I grew up watching that on VHS. Yes, at one time in history, people used VHS for home entertainment. :D And if you have requests, just PM me if you have an idea in mind. If I haven't heard of it, I'll search it on YouTube and hopefully portray it the way you want. I'm not sure what to call it though so please let me know if you have ideas or review your ideas.**

**BritneyGlambertAlsoZeldaFan: I can't thank you enough for your reviews. Your reviews are the best thing that's happed to me on FanFiction. I was actually thinking of the flag of California but I like your idea better.**

**Rapunzel Fitzherbert: This is what's next.**

**BroadwayFanGirl91: Thanks for liking this. Is it in your favorite stories? That would mean the world to me.**

**disneyisbeautiful: I KNOW! She makes friends with everyone! I'm almost positive her, the snake, and the spider had a conversation about her feeling towards Eugene. *Teehee***

**Disclaimer: I only own the popcorn I'm eating the second I write this.**

**Enjoy!**

Eugene spotted the Stabbingtons on the shore. _Really?_ Eugene thought. _Right now?_ Rapunzel noticed his eyes focused on something once she opened her eyes. She started to lean back as Eugene saw them motioning for him to talk to them about a certain crown and nail.

"Is everything okay?" But Eugene was still staring at the shore while Rapunzel looked over her shoulder. Finally he was able to say something.

"Huh?" he said not looking at Rapunzel. When he did, he spoke again. "Oh, yes! Uh…" He took her hand and chuckled trying to make the situation better. "Yes, of course. I just…" he looked at the bag by her side and realized that if he gave them the bag, they'd be off his ass! And THEN he and Rapunzel could live happily ever after. That is if she agreed to run away with him. But he didn't need to think about that right now. He rowed them back to shore and the beach was near to isolated. It was also a little foggy which was strange considering its southern California. He finally stepped out of the boat.

"I'm sorry. Everything is perfectly fine." He grabbed the bag next to her and stood up straight. "There's just something I need to take care of."

_Doesn't he realize how bad this looks?_ Rapunzel thought. While as Eugene was thinking _Please trust me Rapunzel_. He was sure of one thing though. He was certain that if Rapunzel didn't want him to leave, he'd just toss the bag across the beach and kiss her over and over again. Hell, he wasn't going to keep his thoughts clean just because she was innocent. He wanted to make love to her. He was completely and helplessly in love. And the strange thing was that he wasn't afraid to admit it.

But she didn't say anything to make him stay no matter how much she wanted him to. "Okay." she said calmly. Flynn looked at her and knew that there was no other girl in the world for him besides her. He wanted to stare at those eyes forever but finally tore himself away.

"I'll be right back." And with that, he started walking away. Rapunzel trusted him though. She didn't care that it just didn't look right with him walking away like that, holding onto his one-way ticket to paradise. She even realized that that was probably a much better prize than her. But she was expecting him back. He said so himself. Pascal crawled up her shoulder and looked in the direction of where Eugene was walking. He squeaked, wondering if that was the last time they were gonna see him. Rapunzel looked over to her pet and smiled a little.

"It's alright, Pascal." She looked back at Eugene and her smile slowly faded.

Eugene heard what she said to her pet and smiled to himself knowing that he had earned her trust and he was not going to lose it now. He found where they were and made his presence definitely known.

"Ah, there you are. I've been searching everywhere for you guys since we got separated!" This wasn't really getting their attention though. "Hey, the sideburns are coming in nice, huh? Gotta be excited about that." Finally, Sideburns looked at him. No expression, just a blank stare. Eugene cleared his throat and smiled again. "Anyslut, I just wanna say I shouldn't have split," he threw the bag in his direction. "The crown is all yours. I'll miss ya." And now, he started to get back to Rapunzel. But before he could go, he bumped into Eye-Patch, who gave him a glare.

"Holdin' out on us again?" Sideburns started to speak. "Eh, Rider?"

Now he was really confused. He had no idea what they could be talking about. They got what they wanted. Why couldn't they just drop the grudges that they were holding and let him go?

"What?" he asked, completely honest. Sideburns got up and started walking towards him.

"We heard you found something. Something much more valuable than a crown and nail. We want her…instead." They may have just killed him. There was no possible way that he was gonna hand her over like they asked. And how did they find out about her anyway? _Whatever _ Eugene thought. _I could make a quick run for it and get Rapunzel the hell out of here._

Meanwhile, Rapunzel was standing next to the boat, losing hope. That is until she saw a figure coming her way. She sighed in relief. "I was starting to think you ran off with the crown and left me." She moved some hair from her face. But as the figure approached, it split in two. Quickly, Rapunzel realized that it was not Eugene and her smile didn't take long to go away. Soon the Stabbingtons were standing right in front of her.

"He did." Sideburns told her with an evil smirk. Rapunzel understood what he meant but she didn't want to believe it. Why would he just leave like that after what happened?

"What?" Rapunzel's eyes widened. Then she knew that after what happened, he wouldn't leave. He pushed the bag away. That had to mean he didn't want it, right? "No. He wouldn't." Rapunzel looked up at them in confidence and somehow knew they were lying. Sideburns simply pointed out to the sea.

"See for yourself." He didn't lose his expression. Rapunzel saw something but she was sure it wasn't him. She decided to look even though she knew it wasn't him.

"Eugene." She said quietly and looked closer at the boat. That was him alright. Suddenly her face was scared and hurt and she was going to cry. She thought that he had feelings for her. Apparently she was wrong. "Eugene!" she screamed hoping he would turn around and come back. She couldn't believe it. He WAS using her.

The Stabbingtons walked behind her and touched her hair. "A fair trade: A crown for the girl with the magic hair." Rapunzel's eyes widened and knew that he had told them. She told him not to tell anyone. But he did just leave. Why would she expect for him to keep a secret. She turned around to face them in fear. "How much do you think someone would pay to stay young and healthy forever?" He pulled out an enormous bag and right away. Rapunzel knew what was going to happen.

"No. Please." The Stabbingtons were walking towards her as she started to run away. "No!" She was running as fast as she could along the beach. "No!" She continued to run but a big piece of wood from one of the bonfires had caught onto her hair and she couldn't get it off. Then she heard a thud. She stopped tugging on her hair and listened for anything else.

"Rapunzel!" She didn't think she would hear that voice today. She couldn't see anything past the fog.

"Mom?" She got her hair off the log and started walking towards where she ran from. She saw her mom holding another log from a bonfire and the two men were unconscious. Gothel looked up at her daughter.

"Oh!" She dropped the log. "My precious girl." Rapunzel ran to her to give her a hug.

"Mom." she said in relief knowing her mom would comfort her. Immediately, Gothel held Rapunzel and stroked her hair.

"Are you alright?" She released her grip and held up Rapunzel's chin checking for any damage. "Are you hurt?"Even though Rapunzel was happy now that she was with her mom, she still wondered how she got to her.

"Mom, how did you—" But she was cut off as Gothel told her.

"I was so worried about you, dear. So I followed you. I saw them attack you and—" She stopped talking and enveloped her daughter in another hug. "Oh my. Let's go. Before they come, too." She pulled her daughter by the arm but Rapunzel let go to get one more look at Eugene. She still didn't want to believe it. The tears welled up in her eyes. She turned to face her mom who was facing her. Rapunzel was about ready to crack and let the tears fall. She would have explained but it seemed as though Gothel already understood. She held out her hand to let Rapunzel cry. Rapunzel ran to her crying her eyes out. She held onto her mom and knew that she was the one to trust.

"You were right, mom." she said, while many tears fell from her face. "You were right about everything." Gothel walked her to her van and unlocked the doors as Rapunzel got in.

"I know, darling." She started to drive back to Big Bear. "I know."

**The end of the pier…**

Cops were still around the place as they knew on 4th of July, plenty of people go wasted. The boat that Eugene was on crashed into one of the columns holding up the pier. The cops looked over to the boat and saw the man tied to the boat with the crown and nail in his hands.

"Look! Princess Aurora's crown." one of the cops said. They requested back up knowing this guy and how he'd probably get away again.

Eugene was starting to wake up as the force of the boat crashing was pretty jolting and loud. "Rapunzel," he said now remembering what happened. He looked down and saw he was tied to the boat. And he knew that the twins have her now. That thought was enough to wake him. "Rapunzel!" he shouted. He looked up and a bunch of cops were surrounding him and untying him and dragging him away.

Max sat on the street end of the pier and heard what sounded like Eugene near the Ruby's. "No, no, no. Wait, wait, wait! Guys. Guys!" Eugene was trying everything to get them off. Max looked in that direction and saw Eugene being dragged by cops and trying everything to get away. Then he wondered where Rapunzel was. "RAPUNZEL!" Eugene screamed hoping that she hadn't gone too far and that she would hear him. Max looked at the mountains off in the distance. He knew that was where Rapunzel was. And most definitely NOT SAFE.

**The next day in Eugene's cell…**

Eugene was pacing in his cell. He told her he would be right back. He wished that he had never talked to the twins. He wanted to take it all back. Not a single thought in his mind wasn't about her. He wanted to be with her again. Tell her how sorry he was and tell her he loved her. He would even though he's never said it to anyone and swore that he wouldn't. He did love this girl and would do anything for her. But that wasn't going to do anything now. They were separated and the entire night, Eugene was trying to find a way out but no such luck.

He let tears out of his eyes for the first time. Now he really knew that he was in love with her. But what could that do now? He held onto the bars of the window.

The chief came to his cell and opened it. Eugene turned around to see a few cops standing there, ready to escort him someplace. "Let's get this over with, Rider." Eugene didn't know what to expect.

"Where are we going?" he asked. They stood silent and he understood. **(A/N: wow. I really like that word. Understood. Anyslut, carry on!) **He put a hand to his heart knowing it wouldn't be beating soon. "Oh." was all he said. It was time.

**Back at the apartment in Big Bear…**

Rapunzel was sitting on the edge of her bed while Gothel sat behind her undoing her hair. She took out the last flower and placed in with the rest of the flowers in a small cardboard box.

"There, it never happened." But boy, was she wrong. Rapunzel will remember everything, from stepping on the grass for the first time to the horrible heartbreak. Gothel was walking towards the door and said a few more things to her daughter. "Now, wash your hands for dinner. I'm making Pizza Rolls." she finished in a sing-song voice. She looked back at her daughter who didn't look up and was still obviously thinking about her first love. She sighed. "I really did try, Rapunzel. I tried to warn you what was out there. The world is dark and selfish and cruel." She put the box under her left arm and grabbed the door handle with her right hand. "If it finds even the slightest ray of sunshine, it destroys it." And with that, she shut the door, leaving her daughter alone.

Rapunzel looked up to see if she was gone. She was. Rapunzel leaned down and took her hoodie out from under the bed. She turned it around and saw the flag of California's symbol. A bear. She looked over to Pascal. He was blue. Rapunzel didn't smile at all for 12 hours now. And she sure wasn't gonna start now. She fell back onto her bed and sighed. She still really didn't want to believe what happened last night. How could he just leave like tha—

But suddenly, something else caught her attention. She was looking at the ceiling when something stuck out as strikingly familiar. She held up her hoodie, the side that showed the flag. Then she brought it down again and looked at the ceiling. There was something there, she just didn't know what. She brought up the hoodie one more time and brought it back down as she started to sit up. She saw something there, she knew it. She looked closer and saw it. The bear of California. It stuck out over everything. She looked at another painting and saw it there too. Suddenly she saw a million bears all over her room. She was standing up looking at all of them when suddenly she had a flashback.

She saw the bear of California hovering over her as she looked to the side and saw two loving figures supposedly parents. The figures became clearer as she saw the picture of them at the pier. The eyes traveled down to the baby they were holding. Then suddenly, the baby grew up to 18 years old and she saw herself with the crown on her head.

The flashback ended.

"Ahh!" she groaned. She fell back knocking over things on her dresser. Her eyes shot open as she realized who she was.

**Back in a hallway in jail…**

Eugene had handcuffs around his wrists behind his back as two cops were holding him from behind. The chief was in front leading them to Flynn Rider's death. Still the only thing he could think about was Rapunzel and if she was okay. He blamed himself for so many things. He didn't care that he was dying now. He just wanted to see her one more time.

He looked to the side and saw the Stabbingtons in another cell. Immediately, his anger rose up. His eyes were narrowed down to dangerous slits. He couldn't hold it in. He hit the cop to his left, knocking him out. The cop on his right came to stop him, but Eugene got to him first and head-butted him. Then he jumped in the air and his handcuffs were now in the front. He ran to the cell and grabbed Sideburns by the shirt and pulled him to the cell bars.

"How did you know about her?" he scream at him. To be honest, he looked scared. Hell, he was double his size and he was terrified. He didn't usually get angry. And on those rare occasions, it wasn't a good thing to be talking to him. You'd end up dead. "Tell me now!" he yelled at him and wouldn't let go until he spoke.

"It wasn't us." Sideburns explained. "It was the old lady."

"Old lady…" Eugene said. He was trying to process this. Then he realized what someone would do to get their hands on Rapunzel's hair. Her 'mom' was clearly not her mom.

Suddenly, a bunch of hand grabbed him and yanked him away from the cell. All the cops were pulling him back.

"No! Wait!" He tried everything to get away from now that he knew she was in danger. "You don't understand! She's in trouble! WAIT!"

**Back at the apartment…**

"Rapunzel?" Gothel asked. She started walking up the stairs after she heard a thud. "Rapunzel, what's going on up there?" Rapunzel was breathing heavily after her epiphany. She finally opened the door. "Are you alright?" Gothel asked concerned.

"I'm the lost daughter." Rapunzel said quietly and quickly with her eyes still wide. Gothel scoffed and looked back at her daughter.

"Please speak up, Rapunzel. You know how I hate the mumbling." Rapunzel's eyes went back to normal but had a bit of a stern expression.

"I AM THE LOST DAUGHTER! Aren't I?" she said enunciating every word. Gothel's eyes widened as she found out the truth. "Did I mumble, Mom?" Now she was glaring at her. "Or should I even call you that?" She had a fierce bite to her tone of voice. Gothel decided to cover it up as best as she could and smiled.

"Oh, Rapunzel." She was walking up the stairs to her. "Do you even hear yourself? Why would you ask such a ridiculous question?" She held out her arms for Rapunzel to hug her like usual. But this time, she rebelled against her.

"It was you!" Rapunzel pushed her away. "It was all you!" She pointed to her face. Gothel's eyes narrowed.

"Everything I did was to protect you." Rapunzel just couldn't believe it. This was just as bad as Eugene leaving. She pushed her aside and made her way down the stairs. "Rapunzel." Gothel called out trying to get her to come to her senses.

"I've spent my entire life hiding from people who would use me for my power," Gothel attempted again.

"Rapunzel!" she yelled again. Rapunzel just ignored this and continued.

"When I should have been hiding from you!" Rapunzel finished. Gothel wasn't far behind her as she followed her down the stairs.

"Where will you go? He won't be there for you." Rapunzel knew straight away she was talking about Eugene. Then she realized that he may have not left. It was her. She forced him. She knew he wouldn't leave. But she listened to the last sentence again in her head.

"What did you do to him?" She asked kind of afraid to know the answer.

"That criminal is going to put into an electric chair for his crimes." Rapunzel gasped. She couldn't bear the thought of him in one of those things. She couldn't imagine him anywhere near death. She wanted him close. She wanted to see him one more time before... But no. Last night was the last time she'd ever see him. "No." she murmured quietly. Gothel got down to where she was.

"Now, now, it's alright." But everything was not alright. Things were far from alright. "Listen to me. All of this is how it should be." Gothel lowered her hand to stroke her hair.

"NO!" Rapunzel yelled at her. She grabbed her wrist and glared at her again. "You were wrong about the world." Gothel struggled to get free. "And you were wrong about me. And I will NEVER let you use my hair again!" Gothel pulled harder and was free from her grasp and fell back knocking over the mirror. The mirror fell over and shattered all over the floor.

Gothel looked up at Rapunzel again only to see that Rapunzel was walking away from her with a very angry expression. Then Gothel was done with the Mrs. Nice Girl act. She started walking towards Rapunzel.

"You want me to be the bad guy? Fine, now I'm the bad guy."


	11. The Rescue

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the kind reviews. Haven't gotten a negative review since chapter 1! And that's saying something! So there's gonna be 2 more chapters including this one. I may put an epilogue that sort of has to do with Disney. This is gonna be a pretty short chapter though.**

**Because there weren't many reviews, I won't be writing back in this chapter but I'll send you messages.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a .22, a motorcycle, a motorcycle side-car, and do NOT own Tangled.**

Eugene continued to struggle against the cops. He would have been okay with dying, but now that Rapunzel was in danger, he had to get away. But the cops had a good hold on him. There was only one more hallway to go until the room. He had wide-eyes and now more than ever could not stop thinking about Rapunzel. He looked to his side and saw a little unicorn. _Odd place for a unicorn_ he thought. He started to get suspicious. Then the door that led to the next hallway was slammed shut. The door to the side was shut also. All the cops looked around. The door behind them closed immediately too. _WTF?_ Eugene thought.

"What this?" the chief asked loudly. He turned to face the front again and pounded on the door. "Open up!" The little window on the door opened to reveal Cupid on the other side, still drunk.

"What the password?" Then he shut the window. Eugene more than anything wanted to laugh. But he kept his composure.

"What the hell?" the chief said. Cupid opened it again.

"Nope."

The chief was angry. "Open this door!" Cupid has one last answer.

"Not even close!" Then he shut it and didn't open again.

"You have 3 seconds! 1!" No one noticed a hook descending into the hallway and snatched up the cop on Eugene's left. But both Eugene and the other cop looked over and to the ceiling. Then Eugene looked to his right. "2!" the chief continued. The cop on Eugene's right was taken away by a giant biker's hand and taken into that room. The cop got a bit suspicious about the noise behind him. "3!" he finished. But he turned around. Eugene just smiled and waved. "Huh?" Now the chief was really confused. But the door in front opened and Attila walked through with a skillet and knocked out the chief by whacking it over his head.

"Frying pans! Who knew right?" Eugene was a bit relieved until he heard a thud behind him. About 10 cops came running into the hallway. Eugene made a run for it down the other hallway and followed Attila. About 3 cops were chasing him but they were stopped. Ulf was doing a mime act. The cops were just looking at him wondering why he was doing this. Then Ulf looked to his right while the cops followed where he looked. Vladimir was running at them at full speed and screeching. All the cops were so terrified that they couldn't move and just screamed their heads off. Vladimir got to them and took 'em out. Ulf just put on a shocked face as though he had no idea that was what would happen.

Eugene finally made it outside but his 2nd worst nightmare happened. A hundred cops were running towards him. Armed with guns and pepper-spray. Eugene just stood there. Then Hook-hand grabbed him and moved him to his right. Eugene looked at him. But he spoke immediately.

"Head down." Eugene decided he had a plan so he followed.

"Head down!"

"Arms in."

"Arms in!"

"Knees apart."

"Knees apart! Knees apart?" What was happening that required this? Vladimir was about 3 stories above. "Why— Why do I need to keep my knees apa—" But he was cut off by Vladimir who jumped on the end of the board that Eugene was standing on. He went flying and everyone watched. "AHHH!" He screamed and wouldn't stop. He was gonna die.

Instead he landed on a cushion of some sort. His balls hurt like hell but he didn't really give a shit right now. He was wondering if he was alive. But he opened his eyes to see he was on a bike. Attached was a side-car. In the side was Max. He barked to get his attention.

"Max! You brought them here?" He asked looking at the German Sheppard. Max nodded. "Thank you." Eugene said honestly. The dog simple gave him a happy face that said _No problem. Let's go!_ "No, really. Thank you. I feel like maybe this whole time we've just been misunderstanding each other and we're really just…" But the dog gave him another look. _Really? We have to talk about this now?_ Eugene stepped on the gas and just in time. The cops behind him were shooting. But he saw that cops were running from the other direction. The only way out was…

"Max?" He started to slow down. But max egged him on. "Max!" He almost stopped but Max slammed his paw on the gas. "MAX!" He screamed. They were soaring through the air. Eugene screamed his head off. But they landed safely on the freeway. They were definitely the fastest ones there. "Okay max." He put on his helmet. "Let see how fast this baby can go." He slid down the window of the helmet and sped up. They were in Big Bear in about a half hour. Now the only thing that kept him away from her was distance. That definitely was not gonna stop him. They drove through the curtain of leaves. Her apartment was in view. He just hoped that he wasn't too late.

He turned the bike and stopped and jumped off while max stayed in the side-car. Eugene was at the base. "Rapunzel?" There wasn't a reply. He cupped his hands around his mouth thinking maybe she didn't hear him. "Rapunzel, let down your hair!" Still nothing. He gave up on her opening up. He ran to the wall and started to climb. But he heard a creaking noise that sounded like a window opening. He looked up. After a few seconds, the long hair fell to the bottom. _Thank God!_ he thought. He grabbed it and climbed as fast as he could. He was pretty good in high school at climbing the rope so this was nothing. He was at the top soon and got onto the landing. "Rapunzel, I thought I'd never see you again!" _Then he hugged her and kissed her and got down on knee and proposed. She accepted and they lived happily ever after._

But he should have known things don't go the way you plan. He looked up to see his absolute worst nightmare. His eyes were wide open at this sight. Rapunzel was across the room handcuffed to the wall and gagged. She was screaming through the gag to tell him to move or look out. But Eugene didn't understand and didn't move in time. Gothel came up behind him and shot him in the side. Eugene didn't scream but his face was crumpled in pain. Rapunzel couldn't stand it and tried as hard as possible to get to him. Eugene fell to the floor clutching his side. She screamed for him through the gag. But nothing could help. She was going to be taken away and he was going to die.

"Now look what you've done, Rapunzel." Rapunzel didn't listen to Gothel. All she could think about was Eugene and he would die if she didn't do anything. "Oh, don't worry dear. Our secret will die with him." Eugene knew he was going to die. But he needed to get the strength to help Rapunzel. She was his everything. She was his forever.** (A/N: By the way, that's a Tangled deleted song. Search it. Anywhore, continue.)** Rapunzel was struggling as hard as she could against the handcuffs. Gothel took the chain off the wall.

"And as for us," she scoffed while she pulled Rapunzel. But now that the chains were less restricting, she pulled harder than ever to get to Eugene and somehow help. She couldn't see him die. "We are going where no one will ever find you again!" Rapunzel still kept her eyes on Eugene. Pascal attempted to help and pulled on Gothels jeans. Gothel looked down and kicked the creature across the room. Surprisingly, Rapunzel didn't have an effect on this. She just kept struggling against Gothel.

"Rapunzel, really. Enough already!" Rapunzel was very close the hidden ladder under the floor. "Stop fighting me!" Somehow, Rapunzel's gag fell around her neck.

"No!" Rapunzel fell back onto the floor. "I won't stop! For every minute of the rest of my life, I will fight! I will never stop trying to get away from you!" Eugene was happy she was fighting back but he was still in a lot of pain and could barely breathe. Rapunzel took a big breath and spoke again in a calmer tone. "But, if you let me save him, I will go with you." Gothel loosened her grip on the chain. Eugene knew that he would rather die than see her as a prisoner to the worst person in the world.

"No!" Eugene tried as hard as he could to get Rapunzel's attention. "No, Rapunzel." Rapunzel tried to ignore his pleas.

"I'll never run. I'll never try to escape. Just let me heal him and you and I will be together. Forever! Just like you want. Everything will be the way it was." It jus wasn't an option to her to let him die. "I promise." Eugene mentally died right there. He knew that she kept promises and would never break them. He wished that she would take it back. But she didn't. It didn't matter if they were separated forever. She wanted him to live. "Just like you want. Just let me heal him." This caught Gothel's attention. Gothel took the handcuffs and chain off Rapunzel, walked across the apartment to where Eugene was and put it on him. "In case you get any ideas about following us."

It was getting harder and harder for Eugene to breathe. Rapunzel rushed over to him and took his face in her hands. "Eu—Eugene!" Even though he was dying she was happy to see him. He came back for him. Even if he was suffering, he came back! But Eugene was coughing and groaning from the injury and he knew he didn't have much time left. Rapunzel looked down and opened his vest a bit. She saw the blood seeping through his shirt. "Oh, God. I'm so sorry." She gathered some of her hair. "Everything is gonna be okay though." But he knew nothing would be okay. Nothing would ever be okay if they weren't together. He knew that they were meant to be together but things were getting in the way and he would rather die than be separated from her. He pushed away the hair.

"No, Rapunzel!" But Rapunzel was determined to heal him and put it back.

"I promise. You just have to trust me." He trusted her more than anything. He loved her. But she couldn't do this.

"No." He said again.

"Come on. Just breathe." As he breathed he had to get her to stop.

"I can't let you do this." In that moment, Rapunzel knew that he cared about her. Much more than Gothel ever could. Her heart broke to hear him say that he would rather die.

"And I can't let you die." She looked into those eyed hoping that it wouldn't be the last time.

Eugene tried to speak again. "But if you do this," Rapunzel put her hand to his face trying to calm him. "Then you…will die." He tried and tried to get her to stop. But she was still determined.

"Hey," She looked lovingly into his eyes. "It's gonna be alright." Eugene gave her a very weak smile and let her know that he'd given up. She smiled back and put the hair on his injury. Eugene felt something touch his hand. A shard of glass. He got an idea that would save her.

"Rapunzel," Rapunzel opened her eyes to look at him. "Wait." He moved hair from her face and leaned in for a kiss. Rapunzel wanted to kiss him too. But this wasn't the time. But if he wanted to, this would be his last chance. She leaned in and closed her eyes. But Eugene past her face and in one stroke, sliced off all her hair. Rapunzel was wide-eyed in shock at what just happened. Eugene lost his strength and gave up on everything. He knew he wouldn't survive. But it didn't matter.

"Eugene, wha…" She held her hair as it turned brown. Gothel was terrified now.

"No!" she screamed. Rapunzel lifted the hair and the river of gold was now a brown snake. Gothel tried as hard as possible to grasp the hair before it went brown. But the hair was all brown now. "What have you done? What have you done!" Her hair was white and wrinkles appeared. She dropped the hair and went to the broken mirror. "No!" She looked in and she was an old woman again. She was sobbing as she pulled the hood of her jacket over her face ashamed of her appearance. She was walking back towards the window. Pascal wanted her out of there. He bit some of the hair and pulled it so she would trip. Which she did. Gothel fell back and out the window.

Rapunzel knew she wasn't her mom but she still cared about her. She tried to reach for her but she was too late. Gothel was screaming from outside. She fell 30 feet. But she turned to dust before she hit the ground. She was dead.


	12. A New Dream

**A /N: All right! 40 reviews! That is beyond amazing. I'm so glad I have so many readers. I'm thinking about putting in an epilogue. So don't stop reading after this chapter. Anyjew, how many of you are prepared for the death of a king! (Why? Is he sick?) No fool. We're gonna kill him. And Simba too. (Cool! Who needs a king? No King, no King, la la la la la la!) Idiots, there will be a king! (Hey but I thought you said…) I will be king! Stick with me and you'll never go hungry again! So, how many of you are going to see the Lion King?**

**I still need some ideas for my new Tangled one-shots story. Please P.M. me or leave a review! I can't think up a title on my own.**

**Just so you know, I was thinking about putting in something extra when they got out of the church. So Rapunzel thought she was gonna die from the smoke she inhaled. Eugene got worried and Rapunzel said her (almost) last words: 'the best part of the trip was the trip itself, finally having the courage to leave.' Then she passed out and she thought she was dead, but Eugene gave her mouth-to-mouth and she was revived. So, Eugene sort of copies that in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Tangled.**

Rapunzel was kneeling beside the window. She knew Gothel didn't love her but she still cared about her. She was all she had for 18 years. Well, 17 years and 364 days, but now was not the time to get technical. She lost one of the 2 things that she loved. But now she was going to lose both of them. She couldn't let that happen.

She let out the breath she was holding and moved towards him. She pulled his head onto her lap hoping that he was still alive.

"No, no, no, no no. Eugene!" She held up his face. He wasn't showing any sign. Eugene felt himself being pulled up and his name being called. He tried to tell her he was still alive but only for a little while. He opened his mouth but all that came out was a cough. "No. Look at me! Look at me, I'm right here." She took one of his hands. "Don't go. Stay with me Eugene!" And even though she knew the magic was gone, she placed his hand on her hair. "_Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine_." Eugene opened his eyes just a tad. He was trying to get her attention. But Rapunzel kept singing."_Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine._"

"Rapunzel." He finally got her to look at him.

"What?" she asked. She wanted him back. She loved him more than she loved her mother. She decided to hear his last words even though she never wanted him to say last words, let alone die right in front of her.

He held her hand as tightly as he could while Rapunzel could only feel a small squeeze. "The best part of the trip was not the trip itself. It was you. You were my new dream." Rapunzel smiled weakly at him. He did love her. But what would love do now? She told him her feelings too.

"And you were mine." She hated the past tense. But sadly, she knew he was going to die. Eugene smiled softly as he found out that she loved him too. He didn't care now that he was dying. She loved him! He could really die happy now. Because he now knew her feelings, even though he was sure he loved her more than anyone could love anything. He let out his final breath as Rapunzel held back a thousand tears.

Rapunzel's heart was broken completely. She knew that he was doing this so she could be free. She guessed that maybe she could go to her parents. But she didn't want to go anywhere without him be her side. He was everything to her. She didn't want to let go of that. The tears were welling up in her eyes as she laid his hand back down. He lay there motionless as Rapunzel still cradled his head in her hand. She placed a hand on his chest where there was once a heartbeat.

"_Heal what has been hurt._" Even though it wouldn't do anything now, she finished the song. "_Change the fates' design. Save what has been lost._" She managed to choke out the rest."_Bring back what once was mine._" She was about an inch or two away from his face. Her tears were threatening to be released. "_What once was mine_." Finally, she gave in and let the tears flow. A single tear fell onto his face. It seemed to her that nothing else mattered. Just him. She wanted him back. She held onto his body that felt as though he had been dead for days.

Then something remarkable happened. The tear that landed on him soaked into his cheek and turned into a small yellow flower. It flowed downwards towards his injury. Rapunzel finally opened her eyes and looked at the gold that was spilling out from his body. Eugene still lay there not alive but Rapunzel was wondering what the hell was going on. The light was filling the room surrounding Rapunzel and Eugene. A magic golden flower had appeared on his wound and then it all went away.

The blood that was on his vest was not there anymore. Rapunzel wanted to make sure she wasn't hallucinating and touched it to feel blood even though there was none. But instead she felt something else. It was the best thing in the world to feel. A pulse.

Rapunzel looked into his face hoping to see his eyes open. Which they did. He let out a breath of air and moved his head to face Rapunzel slightly.

"Rapunzel?" he asked. Rapunzel couldn't believe it. Was he really back? Could it be him?

She gasped at the thought that he might be back. "Eugene?" Eugene then said something that only he would say after dying.

"Did I ever tell you I've got a thing for brunettes?" That did it. She chuckled a little then her expression was priceless. He never saw her smile that big. Her eyes were shining brilliantly as she tackled him.

"Eugene!" He sat up and held her tightly as she hugged him. He never wanted to let go. They finally got what they wanted: To be with each other. She released him after what felt like forever and he loosened his grip. He wanted to hold onto her for life. Rapunzel let out another small chuckle. She grabbed him by his shirt and pulled his face to hers. She planted a kiss on his lips quickly and pulled back.

Eugene was a little surprised. Rapunzel lost her smile. "Sorry." She said simply. But Eugene's smile grew and he placed his hand in her hair and brought his lips to hers again. This time was better than last night. Because nothing would get in the way.

**In the governor's estate…**

A man that was working at the place as one of the servants came bursting into the governor's study. His wife was reading a book in her chair while the governor was looking out the window. They both turned their eyes to the servant. The servant simply nodded his head. They both widened their eyes. Their daughter was back.

They raced down the halls to where the entrance of the balcony was. They exchanged looks. They both knew that their daughter was all grown up now.

The doors opened and they saw a girl about 18 with short brown hair standing hand-in-hand with the infamous Flynn Rider. But they couldn't care less. The governor's wife took a few steps forward examining Rapunzel. Rapunzel took a few steps towards her real mother and away from Eugene. His wife placed a hand on her face and let out a breath of relief. She smiled knowing this was their daughter. Rapunzel smiled as well, teary-eyed. Then she took Rapunzel in her arms for the first time in 18 years and held her. Rapunzel hugged her tightly. Then she looked up to her father who made it to her and was standing behind them. He smiled and hugged them both. They kneeled down and held each other as a family.

Eugene looked at them smiling at the beautiful scene. Then he wondered where Pascal was. But he felt something shift in his pocket and remembered Pascal was pretty tired after being kicked across the tower. He continued to look at the happy family. He didn't care now if he was put into an electrical chair. She was happy. And that's all that mattered.

Then his wife opened her eyes to see Eugene standing there and offered her hand. Eugene thought that the best case scenario just by looking at her hand meant he would be free. He gladly took her hand expecting a shake. But then he knew where Rapunzel got her strength from. She pulled him down into the hug.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed while he was being pulled down. But as they all smiled, he did too.

**(Eugene's POV)**

"Well, you can imagine what happened next. The state rejoiced, their lost daughter had returned. The fiesta lasted an entire week and honestly I don't remember most of it. Dreams came true all over the place. Hook-hand became the most famous concert pianist in the country if you can believe it. And Big-nose eventually found true love. And Ulf, well, I assume he's happy, he's never told me otherwise. He is a mime. Thanks to Max, crime in Southern California disappeared almost over night. As did most of the apples. Pascal…never changed.

"At last, Rapunzel was home and she finally had a real family. She was a girl worth the wait. Loved by all, she was a great political figure in the future. And as for me, well, I started going by Eugene again, stopped thieving and basically turned it all around. But I know what the big question is: 'Did Rapunzel and I ever get married?' Well I'm pleased to tell you that after years and years of asking and asking and asking…I finally said yes."

But just then Rapunzel met up with me. "Eugene…" She said trying to get him to tell the truth. So I gave in.

"Alright, I asked her." She joined her arm in mine.

"And we're living happily ever after."

I smiled. Yes, we are."

**A/N: So sorry this was so short! But keep reading. I have an epilogue coming up. You'll see it has something to do with Disney.**


	13. Epilogue

**A/N: Hey everybody! Thanks for sticking around and reading this. A shout out to those who gave me great reviews like BroadwayFanGirl91, BrittneyGlambertAlsoZeldaFan, and many others. Especially BrittneyGlambertAlsoZeldaFan. Your reviews were the greatest and I'm gonna miss having such descriptive reviews unless you read my other stories. This really has been fun to write and now I give you the end.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tangled or Disney.**

Eugene was sitting in a chair in his room while reading a book when Rapunzel burst in.

"I'M FINISHED!" She yelled holding up a bunch of papers. Eugene was started at the loud yet beautiful voice and dropped his book. He looked up at her as she was smiling very big.

"Punzie, what are you talking about?" he asked with a questioning look. Rapunzel ran over to him and sat down in her chair next to his.

"Okay. Remember when Disney came by a couple weeks ago?"

"No. Why?"

She continued anyway. "Well, they did. They interrogated me about my life and what I went through 3 years ago."

"Your 18th birthday." He smiled. "What an adventure THAT was."

"Well, they asked if they could do a movie based on me but in historical times."

"That's pretty cool."

"I just finished writing the script!" She held up the papers and waved them. "They asked me to write every detail I remember. I kinda made you a bit of a narrator." She kept smiling and Eugene asked if he could read it. "No, silly! You have to wait for the movie to come out!"

"I'm your husband!"

"Doesn't change the fact that those are the rules. Oh, and I changed the fire to water. Instead of suffocating from smoke, we almost drown. I kinda changed a few things here and there to make it like t was from back then."

"So what are you gonna call it?"

She smiled.

"Tangled."

**A/N: I know. Very short but I wasn't intending on an actual chapter just something really quick. But thank you all very much for reading! :D**


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